Windows, doors and glazing
What should you ask if new windows were fitted and the brickwork over them has cracked?
Ask whether the support over the opening was disturbed. A new frame does not carry the wall unless it was designed to. Cracks at the corners of an opening, or a gap opening above the head, point at the lintel or the bearing, not at the glass. The survey can see the crack. It has not designed a replacement lintel.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Installers sometimes cut out the old window and find a timber lintel, a soldier arch or nothing adequate. The frame then gets asked to do a structural job. The surveyor will not open the plaster head to see which. If the rating says the support needs investigating, that is a builder or an engineer with temporary support in mind, not a glazier with a new sash.
Approved Document A is the England structure document for building work. It is not a grade on this crack. Party-wall notice can also arise if the opening is in a wall shared with a neighbour. The survey serves neither. There is no RICS tariff for lintels. The span, the wall thickness and what sits above decide the quote.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Are the cracks at the corners of the opening, or random in the plaster?
- Could you see the lintel, or only the new frame?
- Is this one window or several openings on the same wall?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not order replacement windows again until someone has looked at the support.
- Photograph the head and both corners. A cill crack can be separate.
- Ask your solicitor whether the installation was notified, and whether the wall is a party wall.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Is a hairline crack at one corner always a failed lintel?
No. It can be shrinkage at the joint between frame and plaster. The survey should say if the crack continues into the brick.
Does a competent-person window certificate cover the lintel?
No. It covers the window route the scheme or the council dealt with. It is not a structural design.