Replacing kitchen window with french doors

britishboy7 · 27 Feb 2020

The back kitchen window of our house is 1.4m wide, we are planning a reshuffle of the layout of the kitchen and was wondering if we could replace the window with french doors (the same width) without any kind of structural work? Would the existing support that currently supports the window opening, be strong enough to support the door opening?

Its a 1930's semi (if that helps)

EddieM · 27 Feb 2020

Well the brickwork underneath isn't offering any structural support.

plastic_peanut · 27 Feb 2020

Have a nosey at this, I find Stu’s videos pretty good

oldbutnotdead · 28 Feb 2020

Main thing is to make sure there's some support above the window- lintel, brick arch. If the existing window is timber it may be doing quite a lot of supporting, if your replacement is PVC or similar then check carefully what's holding the upstairs up. If there's a timber lintel in there then consider replacing it while you're making a mess

britishboy7 · 28 Feb 2020

plastic_peanut said:
Have a nosey at this, I find Stu’s videos pretty good

Great video, thanks for sharing Peanut.. Never seen Stu's videos before so have subscribed. Got a million and one things to do indoors and want to learn

britishboy7 · 28 Feb 2020

oldbutnotdead said:
Main thing is to make sure there's some support above the window- lintel, brick arch. If the existing window is timber it may be doing quite a lot of supporting, if your replacement is PVC or similar then check carefully what's holding the upstairs up. If there's a timber lintel in there then consider replacing it while you're making a mess

Hi oldbutnotdead, its a standard uPVC window, but cant see whats supporting the wall at the moment as its bricked outside and plastered internally. Will take a closer look once we start pulling the kitchen apart

^woody^ · 28 Feb 2020

Lintels support the wall above, not below and so removing the bottom panel is fine.
However this work will be subject to building regulation approval for the DPC work to the jambs and threshold. This is in addition to the actual doorset installation.
Also there could be implications for what is called "buttressing" if this new doorway is close to a wall corner.

I

noseall · 29 Feb 2020

Watch out for errant perp's, when disc-ing out the masonry. We tend to remove and repair any dodgy looking closures.

stuart45 · 29 Feb 2020

noseall said:
Watch out for errant perp's, when disc-ing out the masonry. We tend to remove and repair any dodgy looking closures.

Had to google errant. Never seen that word in The Sun, so thought you made it up.

JohnD · 29 Feb 2020

"A knight-errant[1] (or knight errant,[2]) is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. The adjective errant (meaning "wandering, roving") indicates how the knight-errant would wander the land in search of adventures to prove his chivalric virtues, either in knightly duels (pas d'armes) or in some other pursuit of courtly love."

Incidentally, some women still believe in the myth of the "knight in shining armour" who will gallop up on a white horse and solve all their problems. This is why they make no effort to find their purse or credit card when standing at a supermarket cashier, until the final item is rung up. The have an unconscious belief that somebody else is going to pay.

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Replacing kitchen window with french doors

EddieM

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