Issue With Wooden Support Above Doors

planemad · 30 Dec 2008

One for you builders out there, upstairs in my house I have 2 bedrooms next to each other and the wall around them is like a T shape.

Above the doors look like wooden supports (lintels)?? they are dug 3" into the wall eachside.

I'm not sure if its ok but I can move the wood up and down as if the block above are not sitting on them.

I hope the above is easy to understand but I have included some pictures

Many Thanks

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noseall · 30 Dec 2008

the fact that you can move the 'lintel' and that the masonry has not dropped, says a lot.

wood is not an ideal lintel product as shrinkage produces the problems that you have got, i.e. voids.

as this is an upstairs location then the lintels that one would normally use are probably weaker than the timber lintel you have in place. they are a pressed, corrugated, galvanized steel product and are relatively cheap.

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Lintels-Internal/Internal-Lintel/invt/220067

the masonry has the potential to settle and this could cause localised cracking, but structurally you have nothing to worry about. you could probably deal with the shrinkage gap with some slate packers but will still have to deal with the making good.

^woody^ · 30 Dec 2008

I'd say just wedge the timber up to remove any gap. I would not replace as once the timber is stable inside the house, it tends to stay still

There are lots of timber lintels in houses up until the 60's and its better timber than we get today!

Just put some mesh or plasterboard over it before plastering

planemad · 31 Dec 2008

noseall said:
the fact that you can move the 'lintel' and that the masonry has not dropped, says a lot.

wood is not an ideal lintel product as shrinkage produces the problems that you have got, i.e. voids.

as this is an upstairs location then the lintels that one would normally use are probably weaker than the timber lintel you have in place. they are a pressed, corrugated, galvanized steel product and are relatively cheap.

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Lintels-Internal/Internal-Lintel/invt/220067

the masonry has the potential to settle and this could cause localised cracking, but structurally you have nothing to worry about. you could probably deal with the shrinkage gap with some slate packers but will still have to deal with the making good.

Many Thank's where can I get slate packers from?

swbjackson · 1 Jan 2009

He means make some packers out of a slate.

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Issue With Wooden Support Above Doors

planemad

noseall

^woody^

planemad

swbjackson

DIYnot Local

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