Bressumer/ urgency of work

[Henryc]

We've recently just moved into a 1920s property following some back and forth about the front wall/ brick work above the window/ bressumer which is seemingly sagging/ sinking. We managed to get a tradesman to provide a quote just based on visual inspection (as opposed to more invasive inspection i.e. drilling holes/ exposing the lintels) since we didn't own the property 6 months ago and quoted around 4-6k.

Since moving in about 6 months later there has been noticeable gaps in the same area we were looking at- likely fallen off cement/ pointing which we've found fragments for on the floor (pics attached). On speaking to the same builder about the job and gauging the urgency, they've advised to proceed ideally in the next two months especially as now we can possibly get water ingress into the timber beam to cause further rot. Is this genuine concern to proceed so urgently or can it possibly wait further (if the builder is just pushing for a job soon)?

Just to add also is noticeably on the 1st floor above the window the floor/ skirting does seem to be bowing slightly by about an inch.

Have added picture pictures 6 months before and after of the front wall. Any advice about the urgency or the quote provided would be much appreciated!

 

[alexander]

the slight sagging of the brickwork was most likely caused by the windows being changed from wooden to plastic, wooden window frames were commonly used to support the brickwork above, plastic does not have the same strength or maybe slightly smaller allowing the brickwork above to move & settle a bit ,the brickwork it does not look loose so maybe old settlement, the cement work on the ground is most likely were its been applied to cover damaged bricks which has now fallen off, unless the floor in the room is really spongy to walk on it most likely the way it was built, in my opining the only reason for its immediate repair is the need for warm weather when using lime mortar although it looks like the building has been completely repointed using cement

 

[stuart45]

I'd say the beam will need to be replaced in the near future, although it's difficult to say how soon, as some of them hang on for years. It's usually the bearing ends that go first, but sometimes an insitu repair is possible. I've worked on a few jobs where the beam was replaced with steel. As a brick on edge has been laid to replace a couple of brick courses over the top, the brickwork has dropped by about and inch and a half

 

[a twig]

Years ago I was living near a terrace where all the houses had bay windows, slowly but surely over the course of 10 years the entire street had their bay windows removed and conventional windows installed instead.

Didn’t understand it at the time but very much do “get it” now. We are fortunate here that our bay window was a retrofit and so has a pitched slate roof and a rather large steel

 

[stuart45]

Are you sure the beam hasn't already been replaced in the past? When the old beam deflected and the brickwork dropped a new straight beam would mean that they couldn't get the 2 courses back over the top so used a brick on edge instead.
It's a bit of of bodge to not rebuild more of the brickwork properly, but it does happen.