Solutions
Are the bricks above your arches slipping downwards? Lintels curving? Are there cracks above your windows and doors? Fixing them shouldn't take more than a day — and no wall, window or door gets knocked down or rebuilt.
- Free assessment · 1–2 day repair · 20-year warranty
- Structural Engineers · Licensed Builders · Skilled Technicians
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Are the bricks above your arches slipping downwards? Lintels curving? Are there cracks above your windows and doors? Fixing them shouldn't take more than a day — and no wall, window or door gets knocked down or rebuilt.
- Free quote · 1–2 day repair · 20-year warranty
- Structural Engineers · Licensed Builders · Skilled Technicians
Solutions
Arch & lintel repair — arches and lintels repaired, no dismantling
Are the bricks above your arches slipping downwards? Lintels curving? Are there cracks above your windows and doors? Fixing them shouldn't take more than a day — and no wall, window or door gets knocked down or rebuilt.
- Free structural inspections — the cracks above your doors and windows checked at no charge
- Minimal disruptions — fixing the cracks above doors and windows shouldn’t take more than a day
- 20-year warranty — in the rare case your cracks return, we’ll be back at no extra cost
Structural Engineers · Licensed Builders · Skilled Technicians
TrustpilotGoogleOur arch & lintel repair solutions
More often than not, builders will dismantle broken arches or tear out entire walls to repair lintels. This turns the arch and lintel repair process into a long-winded, disruptive and expensive one. It's a process that leaves huge, gaping holes in your home's structure AND wallet. Worst of all, you'll probably need to leave your home while the work is done.
Rather than turn your life upside down, our technicians and structural engineers look for the true cause of your home's broken arches and lintels before doing anything. By diagnosing issues properly, they'll implement a permanent arch and lintel repair solution using our proprietary HelicalBar™. This process usually doesn't take more than a day and you can even stay at home while we work.
What are the causes behind arch and lintel failure?
Arches and lintels above doors and windows fail for a number of reasons. To repair them properly, finding and eliminating the root cause of the failure is of tantamount importance. If you’re wondering why your arches and/or lintels have failed, read on for some of the top reasons.
Subsidence
Subsidence is the top cause of arch and lintel failure. Subsidence causes the ground underneath your home to sink downwards or shift laterally. This places immense force on your home’s foundation. The force travels throughout your home’s foundations up into your walls, ceiling and roof, causing unevenness and instability everywhere. When uneven forces find themselves around the arches and lintels above your windows and doors, they’re going to squeeze them inwards or pull away from them.
Steel Corrosion
Steel arch bars or steel lintels corrode over lengthy periods of time due to exposure to moisture and salts. These arch bars and lintels are designed to divert heavy wall loads to the supports on either side of your windows and doors. However, when steel corrodes it expands, weakens and no longer diverts force properly down the sides of windows and doors.
Poor Workmanship
If an arch is poorly constructed or if a lintel is poorly installed, the pressure surrounding the arch or lintel is going to be uneven. Uneven loads will eventually cause them to break and fail.
Mortar Corrosion
Over time, the mortar used to hold brick or stone together can fail due to natural elements such as time and weather. Lime mortar, which is used in a lot of older buildings, is particularly susceptible to corrosion. When the mortar used to fasten the bricks in arches together becomes weak, the bricks become loose. When mortar surrounding a lintel fails, it’s usually an indicator the mortar around the window and doorway will fail too.
Arch and lintel repair methods
No dismantling. The arch or lintel is reinforced in place with HelicalBar™ and pointed with fresh but similar-looking mortar, so the repair looks as if it never happened.
Repairing and Reinforcing Brick Arch Structures
We begin this arch repair method by removing old or even corroded mortar from the arch’s bed joint. We flush out any leftover debris with clean water, then place a single 6mm HelicalBar™ into each slot on both sides of the arch. Using GroutSet, we make the HelicalBar™ follow the complete curve of the arch for extra support. To stabilise the first course of brick further, we install a 6mm brick perp anchor or Fast-Fix at 220mm on the underside of the arch to catch any loose brickwork. To finalise the arch repair process, we point these sections with fresh but similar looking mortar to leave the arch appear as if untouched.
Repairing Failed Concrete Lintels
Using power cutting tools, we cut slots through the concrete to a specified depth, vertically and horizontally. The tools feature vacuum attachments which suck up concrete powders as we cut to keep your home tidy and clean. After cutting, we bond a single 6mm HelicalBar™ into each slot using GroutSet. For any crack that’s within 300mm of a corner, we pre-bend the HelicalBar™ to form a 90-degree elbow and extend the bar around the corner. To finalise the lintel repair process, we point these sections with fresh but similar looking mortar to leave the lintels looking as if repairs never happened.
Repairing Failed Angle Iron Lintels
We begin this lintel repair method by removing old or even corroded steel and mortar from selected bed joints. We flush out any leftover debris with clean water, then place a single 6mm HelicalBar™ into each slot on both sides of the arch using GroutSet. For any crack within 300mm of a corner, we pre-bend the HelicalBar™ to form a 90-degree elbow and extend the bar around the corner. To finalise this lintel repair process, we point these sections with fresh but similar looking mortar. This leaves your lintels looking like they’ve never been touched.
Our arch & lintel repair solution – HelicalBar™
Non-Invasive. Permanent. Guaranteed.
No Walls Knocked Down. No Bricks Replaced. Ever.
Whether it's a brick arch, a concrete lintel or an angle iron lintel, the repair is the same idea: a single 6mm HelicalBar™ bonded into each slot with GroutSet, following the curve of the arch or extended around the corner, then pointed with fresh but similar looking mortar. Nothing is dismantled. Nothing is rebuilt.
We never knock down or rebuild walls, windows or doors. Fixing the cracks above doors and windows shouldn't take more than a day, and you can stay at home while we work.
Need an arch and lintel repair solution now? Are the bricks above your arches slipping downwards? Lintels curving? Are there cracks above your windows and doors? It's time to give us a call. We'd love to help you out, starting with a FREE inspection.
When you work with us, we promise
Free structural inspections. We take a look at the cracks above your doors and windows at no charge.
Personal, friendly service. We'll treat your home as if it's ours.
Simple, transparent quotes. Our quotes come with easy to understand computer-generated drawings that detail our proposed solution.
Minimal disruptions to your life. Fixing the cracks above doors and windows shouldn't take more than a day.
Minimal disruptions to your home. We never knock down or rebuild walls, windows or doors.
Fixed-price quotes. Unlike many other building companies, the price you see is the price you pay. See our full list of prices.
Permanent fixes. Cracks above your doors and windows stay fixed.
20-year warranty. In the rare case your cracks return, we'll be back to fix them at no extra cost.
What to expect
How the arch and lintel repair process works — from inspection to completion.
Step 1Free Structural Assessment
A Buildfix engineer inspects your home, measures the cracks, identifies the root cause, and designs a wall crack repair plan on-site. Measurements, photos, and markings are recorded using mobile software — and the price is usually explained there and then.
Step 2Get Your Quote and Book
A complete quote package arrives — detailed drawings, repair method statement, and a fixed-price quote. The price you see is the price you pay. When you’re ready, book through the online portal and suitable dates are organised for the wall crack repair.
Step 3Cut Slots and Install HelicalBars™
Narrow slots are cut into the mortar joints along the crack line. HelicalBar™ stainless steel bars are bonded into the brickwork with high-strength structural grout, reconnecting the cracked masonry at depth. No bricks removed. No walls knocked down.
Step 4Finish and Clean Up
Once the HelicalBars™ are installed, the cracks are filled, mortar repointed, and brickwork colour-matched — or render and plaster blended for a smooth, uniform finish. The site is cleaned and your home left spotless.
Step 5Receive Your Warranty
Your 20-year product and workmanship warranty arrives via email with the Completion Package — a job report covering the work, materials, and images.
See the difference
Actual Buildfix arch repairs — before and after.
Press the image for a closer look.Click on the image for a closer look.
Structural fix.
Guaranteed to last.
The benefits of HelicalBar™ arch and lintel repair.
HelicalBar™ stainless steel bars are bonded into the mortar joints, reconnecting the cracked masonry as a single structural unit. The wall is stronger than it was before the crack appeared. It works in a uniform manner again — loads spread evenly and distributed through the foundations as designed.
Need an arch and lintel repair solution now? Book a FREE inspection today.
Real homes. Real results.
15,000+ homes and structures repaired. Want to see real Buildfix HelicalBar™ repairs? Browse a few below.
HomeownerStrathfield, NSW
Heritage Home Repaired Twice, Same Team
When new cracks appeared in this 150-year-old Strathfield home, the owner didn’t hesitate — they called Buildfix again. Buildfix had already fixed the front of the house years earlier. This time, the team tackled the rear.
HomeownerNewtown, NSW
Recurring Cracks Fixed, Gum Tree Saved
For 10 years the cracks in this Newtown home were patched, painted and came back. The house was sinking at the front and lifting at the back, and a gum tree was the reason.
HomeownerWindsor, VIC
Wall Cracks Traced to a Hidden Void
Every expert said “seasonal movement.” But the cracks kept spreading — including right above a child’s bed. Buildfix found the real cause: years of driveway runoff had quietly washed out the ground beneath the walls.
CommercialAshfield, NSW
Heritage Fairground Wall Rescued
An 80-year-old heritage brick wall at a fairground and cricket ground, damaged by decades of impacts and tree root shifts. Buildfix replaced corroded steel, reinforced the cracks, and stabilised the ground — saving the council over $30,000.
HomeownerSt Kilda, VIC
Bungalow Repaired After 2021 Earthquake
After the 2021 Melbourne earthquake left an 80-year-old California Bungalow with cracked arches and shifting foundations, Buildfix repaired the damage in just three days — without removing a single brick.
HomeownerAnnandale, NSW
Brick Arch and Sunken Wall Repaired
A handyman propped this Inner West brick arch so it wouldn't come down. Stormwater had been washing the ground out from under the footing for years. The walls were stabilised, the arch re-lifted, and not one brick removed.
CommercialMarrickville, NSW
Heritage Corner Store Saved From Collapse
Three mobile phone masts were loading a 1920s corner store that was never built to carry them, and the 80-year-old wall ties had snapped. The walls were reinforced and over 1,000 new ties installed without removing a brick. The masts stayed up.
CommercialStrathfield, NSW
Cathedral Walls Repaired Without Disruption
Overflowing gutters had washed voids under the 1.5-metre footings of a 1954 cathedral, and cracks ran through walls three times the thickness of a house. The ground was stabilised and the walls stitched back together with the congregation still using the building.
“All of the Buildfix team have been easy to communicate with. Everyone was punctual and communicated arrival times well ahead of arrival.”
Scott HolmesMelbourne, VIC
“All of the Buildfix team have been easy to communicate with. Everyone was punctual and communicated arrival times well ahead of arrival.”
Scott HolmesMelbourne, VIC
“All of the Buildfix team have been easy to communicate with. Everyone was punctual and communicated arrival times well ahead of arrival.”
Scott HolmesMelbourne, VIC
“All of the Buildfix team have been easy to communicate with. Everyone was punctual and communicated arrival times well ahead of arrival.”
Scott HolmesMelbourne, VIC
Questions?
Our team is here to answer any questions you may have Monday – Friday 8am to 5pm AEST. Give us a call on 1300 854 115.
