I am preparing to knock a 6ft wide opening in the dining room of our house to open it up into the lounge. I am pretty sure it's a non load bearing wall although it is made of brick (1940s construction). The question is what kind of lintel to use. Should I go for a steel box lintel or a concrete one? And how wide? Would a 7ft lintel be enough for a 6ft wall? Any help appreciated.
Knocking through dining room and lounge - which lintel?
- Thread starter hallamj
- Start date
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You need to be CERTAIN that it isn't load bearing rather than pretty sure!
What's above it? If it is just a few courses of brickwork up to the ceiling with no joists resting on it then a concrete one might be OK. However, I would suggest that the only proper way to do this would be to get a structural engineer to do some calcs and then buy a lintel that meets their specification...
What's above it? If it is just a few courses of brickwork up to the ceiling with no joists resting on it then a concrete one might be OK. However, I would suggest that the only proper way to do this would be to get a structural engineer to do some calcs and then buy a lintel that meets their specification...
You need help from someone who knows what they are doing.
It sounds like the wall is supporting the joists which are in turn supporting another wall, therefore this wall that you want to knock through is supporting....
It sounds like the wall is supporting the joists which are in turn supporting another wall, therefore this wall that you want to knock through is supporting....
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If the joists run perpendicular to the wall, it's likely they are supported by it. It is also possible that the wall above is partly supported by your downstairs wall, through the floor joists.
Personally I would be inclined not to use a r.c. lintel as the length you would need would be heavy and they are also prone to cracking if not handled carefully.
Try a 178x102 steel beam, which woud be more than OK on that span.
Personally I would be inclined not to use a r.c. lintel as the length you would need would be heavy and they are also prone to cracking if not handled carefully.
Try a 178x102 steel beam, which woud be more than OK on that span.
There it is!
There it is!
You lot are so, so funny.
There it is!
There's what??
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