Garage Door & Window Lintel Repair in Memphis
Garage door lintel repairs across Greater Memphis. Cracks or sagging above the garage door usually mean the lintel needs support. Madewell reinforces the opening and restores the brick so it looks straight again — with a 10-year workmanship guarantee.
Is the Brick Above Your Garage Sagging?
Cracks, stair-steps, or sagging in the brick above a garage or window usually mean the lintel needs support. We are masons: we reinforce the steel support and rebuild the brickwork. We do not service garage door openers, tracks, or panels.
- Brick rebuild above garage and window openings
- Lintel reinforcement (seismic bolts when missing)
- Cracked or sagging masonry secured and re-laid
- Color-matched mortar so the repair blends in
- Related wall crack repair at the opening
Garage Lintel & Brick Arch Repair, Step by Step
This Memphis-area home had two failing openings at once: a cracked soldier course above the garage door and a cracked brick arch over the front entry. Here is exactly how Madewell repaired both — the same process we bring to every lintel job.
Step 1. Diagnose the Cracking
Both problems announced themselves the same way: cracks opening through the mortar joints, with the brick on either side no longer lining up. Over the garage, the crack ran through the soldier course beside the opening — the row of upright bricks that dresses the lintel. On the entry arch, the joint opened at the crown of the arch, where load concentrates, with white efflorescence staining that told us water had already found its way in.
We mark every spot that needs bolts, ties, or rebuilding before a single brick is touched — so you know the full scope up front, in writing.
Step 2. Shore the Opening
Before any cracked brick comes out, its weight has to go somewhere safe. We set adjustable steel jack posts — shoring — under the header and load them until they, not the damaged lintel, are carrying the wall above the opening. Only then is it safe to open the wall and expose what failed.
This is the step that separates a professional lintel repair from a patch job. Skip it, and removing brick above a garage-width span invites a collapse that turns a one-day repair into a rebuild.
Step 3. Reinforce What Was Missing
With the opening shored and the failed section exposed, we install what the wall should have had all along: corrugated wall ties at proper spacing to anchor the brick veneer to the framing, and seismic bolts where the lintel needs to be locked to the structure. Fresh mortar is packed solid around every tie as the brick goes back course by course.
Step 4. Re-Lay the Brick
The brick goes back one course at a time in mortar mixed to match the original in color and strength — the same standard as our repointing work. Cleaned original brick is reused wherever possible so nothing looks patched. Then the jacks are backed off gradually, letting the wall settle evenly onto its new support.
The test we hold ourselves to
When we're done, you shouldn't be able to tell where the repair was — and the door should run true in its tracks. Every step above is covered by our 10-year workmanship guarantee.
Step 5. Turn the Arch Back
The entry arch got the same treatment with one extra discipline: geometry. A brick arch carries load by shape, so it is re-laid course by course to its original curve — each brick angled so the arch locks tight and sheds its load to the walls on either side, the way it was designed to.
- Arch re-laid to its original curve, brick by brick
- Joints closed with color-matched mortar
- The water path behind the efflorescence sealed off
- Surrounding brickwork cleaned so nothing looks patched
Cracks above your own garage, windows, or entry? The look is free and the assessment is honest.
What Is a Lintel?
The areas above doors and windows get less support because of the open space underneath. A lintel is essentially a beam above the opening that carries the weight of the brick and transfers that load to the solid masonry on either side. On garages, that span is especially wide — so the lintel works harder than almost any other opening on the house.
Seeing cracks above your garage door?
Caught early, this is a straightforward masonry repair. Wait, and it becomes a much bigger job. Call 901-443-1036 for a free, honest look.
Why Is My Garage Lintel Sagging?
Ideally, builders reinforce the lintel above a garage with seismic bolts so it stays firmly in place. That step is often skipped. Over time the brick above the opening cracks, stairs-steps, or sags — and the door track can bind.
Rusted steel lintels can also swell and lift the masonry. We diagnose whether you need reinforcement, brick rebuild, or both, and we tell you honestly which one applies.
Seismic Bolts, Wall Ties & Shoring
Two kinds of support do the work on a lintel job: the permanent hardware that locks the brick to the structure, and the temporary shoring that carries the wall while we install it. Here is what each one looks like on a real Madewell job.
How Garage Lintel Repair Works
- Mark the spots where bolts, wall ties, or rebuilds are needed.
- Carefully open the mortar and remove brick from that area.
- Install missing seismic bolts and wall ties, or address the failed lintel support.
- Mix new mortar to match the original in color and strength; clean the brick we removed.
- Reset brick and mortar above the garage or window opening.
- Repair any cracking or crumbling brick caused by the failed support.
When finished, the area looks straight, seamless, and good as new — like there was never damage.
Related work
Settlement cracks lower on the wall? See foundation repair. Open mortar nearby? See tuckpointing. Full service list on our services page.
Lintel Repair Questions
Not always. Many jobs are fixed by reinforcing the masonry and installing missing seismic bolts, then re-laying the brick. We replace steel only when it is truly failed.
Yes. Matching brick and mortar color is part of every lintel job so the repair blends with the rest of the wall.
Yes. Our workmanship on lintel and garage-opening masonry is backed by Madewell's 10-year guarantee.
Ready to Protect Your Home? Let's Talk.
From a crumbling chimney to a hairline mortar crack, Madewell Masonry gives you an honest assessment and a fair price — backed by 40+ years of experience and a 10-year guarantee on our workmanship.