Hi,
I have pulled the plaster off a bricked up fireplace, which I want to open up, and discovered that the keystone is loose in the brick arch, with a crack running up from it through the second course of bricks in the arch, and also through 2 course of bricks above the arch.
I am wondering if I would be best installing a reinforced concrete lintel below the arch (where there is already brickwork from when the fireplace was bricked in), or above it, or do I need to do something about the arch itself first?
My concern is that because the arch is split from the middle, it probably means that the pillars have spread slightly, so installing a lintel might not stop the problem...
cheers,
Derek
I have pulled the plaster off a bricked up fireplace, which I want to open up, and discovered that the keystone is loose in the brick arch, with a crack running up from it through the second course of bricks in the arch, and also through 2 course of bricks above the arch.
I am wondering if I would be best installing a reinforced concrete lintel below the arch (where there is already brickwork from when the fireplace was bricked in), or above it, or do I need to do something about the arch itself first?
My concern is that because the arch is split from the middle, it probably means that the pillars have spread slightly, so installing a lintel might not stop the problem...
cheers,
Derek