French door install Friday - lintel question - help !

[Cabbyfan]

Hi everyone,

Got a bit of an urgent one here. I am having French doors fitted this Friday (20th Nov), the frame etc is already ordered and made to a specific height measured by the installers.

I have cut out the hole ready, its a bungalow with inner leaf supporting wall plate on a new steel fitted by me (new opening is wider than window that was there).

Its the outer leaf that is doing my head in, the guy who measured it took if from floor level internally and to the level of the soffet board under the eaves. Thing is now I have the hole cut I either go with their measurements but I think the threshold is too high (30 mm sill + 65mm frame) PLUS the natural break on the outer course is higher than the floor level by about 20mm so its also not going to fit OR I remove an extra course of bricks which will make the threshold much lower and better but it leaves me with a 60mm gap between the top of the frame and the underside of the soffet board under the eaves.

All I can think of is fitting a L shaped steel lintel on the outer leaf, bricking it with a row of bricks and dashing it up.

Any suggestions ??

 

[kazuya]

remove a course of bricks and drop the frame by as much is needed, you don't have to drop it the whole course, pack it to the exact height you need, when the doors are fitted fill the gaps with wood/ expanding foam/ or sand and cement then buy plastics strip to finish it off.

 

[Cabbyfan]

Thanks for the replies. I have gone for a single leaf steel angle lintel after running it past my building control guy. Shame its raining like mad here ! Going to be a long evening I think.

 

[ree]

OP,

If you are in an urgent predicament why not post pics of the situation.

Presumably you have the dimensions of the opening you have made, and the dimensions needed to install the frame? Why not post them too?

You could even post a scanned sketch of a dimensioned section view from ground level to soffit?

 

[Cabbyfan]

Hi Ree, thanks for the reply. Image below shows the way the window firm want to install. Basically they have measured from the floor board level internally upto the underside of the soffet/facia board under the eaves. This gives 2 issues, one means cutting a course of bricks down rather than breaking at a natural level but to be a bigger issue is the threshold will be a step of about 11 or 12 cm which is just too high.

So I have bought a L shaped lintel which I will fit tomorrow night, just need it to stop raining lol. In effect this will drop the entire frame down (doors open outwards) by about 55mm to 60mm giving a much better threshold.

 

[ree]

The pic, i presume, shows the inside block leaf opened up but the outer brick leaf as still intact?

The lower course of bricks could be removed and the frame packed up to meet the FFL - later the gap below the sill could be made good. Ignore the frame head for the time being, get the cill in a position (30mm?) above the FFL.

Your drawing doesn't show the DPC or the ground level below the sill. Perhaps you will pic that area tomorrow?

I would wait until the frame is on site before installing the angle iron lintel (or be absolutely certain of your height dimension) - you will then be able to take the dimensions from the frame itself.

Someone should have figured these, & other things out before any frame was even ordered - eg. what arrangements do you have for cavity closers: or sealing the threshold: or the (possibly) dashed reveals?

I doubt that you will end up with an air tight frame.

Just read kazuya's post above and i apologise for repeating some of what you had said earlier.

 

[Cabbyfan]

Hi everyone,

French doors are in and job is signed off by BC woohoo In the end I dropped the whole frame my a full course of bricks and installed a lintel on the outer leaf - L shape. Just need to fireboard / plasterboard and plaster it now.

Cheers.