dodgy window installation , how do they rectify this..

[stolt]

hi had some windows installed today, for the long window in picture it was put in we never had a window there to start with. where the hole has been cut they have tried to follow the course of bricks down the walll but the course of bricks isnt straight which meant when they came to mastic it, the line is all over the shop. We i got home from work i spoke to one of the guys who said the builders (who work for the same company) should have put cement down the course to straighten up the course (doesnt actually need that much) and then they could mastic it, could anyone advise if this is the right course of action to rectify it and make it look better than a diy job.

thanks

[jas xjr]

They have made a pigs ear of cutting the bricks in the first place

[stolt]

yeah, i know trouble is towards the top the bricks arent cut and then in the middle they are, the builders who made the opening are blaming the surveyor who said that it would have made sense to make the window two bricks width and then it would have been easier to do.. still own then money so just trying to know the way to rectify it so i'm not fobbed off with a eyesore.

[Pagey]

Errr!


Can't see clearly in the pics but have they put a lintel in?

Or is that brickwork just sitting on top of the window?

[mybrainhurts]

Lintel two by four, was it...?




Just going to see O'Reilly, dear...

[Globs]

Looks like a soldier course above the window so I think the lintel is there.
A real pigs ear of the job, I think they need to start toothing out bricks and basically make that line of bricks straight.

So yes, their mistake was to blindly carry on when the job was obviously fecked, they need to take the window out and clean it up, sort out all the brickwork down the side of the opening and _then_ install the window again.

[98elise]

They could get them to tidy it up by disc cutting a very thin strip from the brick so that you have a clean edge. It would mean a bigger bead if mastic, but will be less noticable.

They might even have trim pieces to cover the mastic. You can buy white upvc strip pieces to do just that, where windows meet plaster, brick etc.

[shimmey69]

Jesus

Numpties

What you/ they need to do is remove the 2 Offending bricks and rebed them so they are level, easy job that anyone who cares about how the finished job looks would have done in the first place!!!

[Busamav]

Certainly a bad job from start to finish there, disappointed they even started to put the frame in.

There are more than 2 bricks causing a problem there , everything from 1/2 way up looks a pig ear for one reason or another , the only way to get that sorted is take the bricks out and rebuild it , which then leaves you with a zip fastener appearance of new mortar

I hate to say it , but probably the best opt out from here is to have a fine angled aluminium cover strip matching the frame , to conceal the disaster.

Whever did the mastic , take the gun away from them and send them home .

[stolt]

cheers for the all the replies.... not sure when they are back, wont be soon as i havent paid them yet!! one of the original builders was blaming the surveyor and the guy who fitted the window and did the mastic blamed the guys who cut the hole. why it needed to different groups of people to do it i dont know. I heard he mentioned cementing down the side of the bricks which are wonky to bring it level then mastic it again..

yeah there is a lintel in there, the solider course was put in because it was just a wall before, no window there previously.

[jas xjr]

stolt said:

cheers for the all the replies.... not sure when they are back, wont be soon as i havent paid them yet!! one of the original builders was blaming the surveyor and the guy who fitted the window and did the mastic blamed the guys who cut the hole. why it needed to different groups of people to do it i dont know. I heard he mentioned cementing down the side of the bricks which are wonky to bring it level then mastic it again..

yeah there is a lintel in there, the solider course was put in because it was just a wall before, no window there previously.

they need to replace the bricks. adding some mortar will be a bodge

[Globs]

jas xjr said:

they need to replace the bricks. adding some mortar will be a bodge

+1

You cannot fix it with mortar, those bricks must be cut out.
It is not the surveyers fault, the fault lies with

1) The person who made the hole - they didn't do their job properly.
2) The window fitter - he should have refused to fit the window.

Things like this remind me why I do this stuff myself, however inconvenient it seems at the time

[Theoldfm]

That is a real mess.

If you were to have them cut the bricks out and then tooth new ones in, it would still look a pigs ear as you would probably see the difference in mortar colour and would still have to have wider perps (the vertical joint) in order to make the reveal line up - which would look a mess too.

If it was me, I would tell them to make a new, slightly wider window (say 30mm wider) then take out the old window and saw cut the bricks to a new straight line (so that the opening is 30mm wider) and then fit the new window.

This is the only way that you are going to end up with a 'proper job' which is what you should have got in the first place.

Good luck!

[Fossilface]

Theoldfm said:

That is a real mess.

If you were to have them cut the bricks out and then tooth new ones in, it would still look a pigs ear as you would probably see the difference in mortar colour and would still have to have wider perps (the vertical joint) in order to make the reveal line up - which would look a mess too.

If it was me, I would tell them to make a new, slightly wider window (say 30mm wider) then take out the old window and saw cut the bricks to a new straight line (so that the opening is 30mm wider) and then fit the new window.

This is the only way that you are going to end up with a 'proper job' which is what you should have got in the first place.

Good luck!

But then the soldier bricks won't be the full width of the opening.

[Fossilface]

I do sympathise.
I lose count of the number of times that tradesmen have tried to leave jobs half finished like this.
And they wonder why I watch them like a hawk.

[Theoldfm]

Fossilface said:

But then the soldier bricks won't be the full width of the opening.

Good point. Bugger.

[juan king]

Fossilface said:

I do sympathise.
I lose count of the number of times that tradesmen have tried to leave jobs half finished like this.
And they wonder why I watch them like a hawk.

I hate it when the customer stands watching me, if anything it is more likely to make me make a mistake!

[Fossilface]

juan king said:

Fossilface said:

I do sympathise.
I lose count of the number of times that tradesmen have tried to leave jobs half finished like this.
And they wonder why I watch them like a hawk.

I hate it when the customer stands watching me, if anything it is more likely to make me make a mistake!

That may be so, but this habit started funnily while having a very large window fitted.
I'd just popped into the room to see how they were getting on.
They had just fitted the frame and I watched as they then measured it diagonally and then started getting the glass ready to be fitted.
I asked them what the tolerance of the measurement was. I think it was 7mm diagonally.
I then asked them how far out the window was.
He couldn't remember and had to measure it again.
"It's 9mm".
They then abandoned fitting the glass and started squaring up the frame.

That's why I keep an eye on tradesmen.

I'm not saying 2mm is the end of the World, but why have tolerances and procedures that you are going to ignore and more specifically, after I've paid an arm and a leg for a window, I want it to be the best it can be.

It's the sort of attitude that results in problems like the OP has.

[juan king]

I do see your point. But it is annoying. It makes you feel untrusted

[Globs]

juan king said:

I do see your point. But it is annoying. It makes you feel untrusted

Some people like to watch others working, also it's interesting and a good way to learn. Not everyone will be watching because they don't trust you!