Brickwork above porch UVPC door/window frame.

[GettingOnWithItAll]

I'm thinking of building a porch and can't find anything in building regs or on the internet to answer if there are any requirements or tricks for a line of 3 bricks above a UPVC door/window frame.

See the attached image.

In essence, I want to do a mirror image of the next door porch. The previous house owner backed out of an agreement to split the cost of a double porch and the neighbour went ahead with his half with the dividing wall and the first row of tiles straddling the boundary. He's happy for me to key into the wall as necessary.

FWIW this will be my first house structure. With a footprint of 1.0 x 2.0m and a height of less than 3m it doesn't need planning permission. I'm comfortable with the challenges of the construction, having done a fair amount of brickwork and carpentry in the garden and, in the past, some half-decent plastering. I'll get a professional in for the light wiring (I'm up to it myself but AFAIK planning regs & Part P get in the way). I'm also aware of the party wall regs and my neighbour is happy to sign for what I want to do.

 

[stuart45]

I'm thinking of building a porch and can't find anything in building regs or on the internet to answer if there are any requirements or tricks for a line of 3 bricks above a UPVC door/window frame.

The normal trick is to use a lintel.

 

[GettingOnWithItAll]

Thanks.
I seem to have had a brainstorm and assumed that all lintels are visible, but of course there are steel ones that aren’t.
Doh.

 

[^woody^]

Another trick is to have the floor level with the house, lift the frame up and have no bricks above.

 

[GettingOnWithItAll]

Thanks.

I'm already planning to have the floor the same height as the house floor and I did think of a tall UPVC frame to avoid the brickwork. I'm sleeping on that as I'm concerned that it might look cheap compared to next door and, in any case, I need to get formal approval from the regulator (aka my wife).

 

[Notch7]

I guess it can be done ok, although its a bit of an odd design, having

Thanks.
I seem to have had a brainstorm and assumed that all lintels are visible, but of course there are steel ones that aren’t.
Doh.

I dont think the brickwork looks too bad, it matches in well, its just that less than 2 course of brickwork look a bit odd and have no strength.

The existing porch would have looked better with taller doors TBH.

I think Id consider keeping the same design with the ssme brickwork, it would probably look better than having mis matching porches. Especislly if the roofline is going to run in line.