Brick Fire Surround - What to use for a Lintel??

[BEdwards]

I am planning to construct a brick fire surround but am not sure what to use for a lintel over the opening. It will need to be strong enough to take three or maybe four courses of bricks over an approximately 900mm (35 1/4 inch) opening. Will a flat steel bar do, and if so what thickness and width should it be. I am imagining angle iron (steel) would be more suitable but again I am not sure of the dimensions that would be suitable. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Ben Edwards

 

[noseall]

either suggestion sounds ok. you can buy galvanized steel angle specifically for lightweight jobs such as yours. most lintel companies make them.

 

[BEdwards]

Many thanks for the reply. It is good to know I am on the right track. I have searched on the internet for suppliers but have not come up with anything much yet. Can anyone recommend a company that may supply such steel angle preferably around the luton area?

Many thanks,

Ben

 

[noseall]

catnic are a large, pressed steel lintel manufacturer, as well as birtley and i.g. they all supply to the trade via good builders merchants.

 

[Richard C]

Not sure what style or look your going for but I had a sort of large Inglenook built into the end wall of my previous new house, it had a full height brick chimney breast around 2.5 m wide with a hearth opening approx 800mm wide. The hearth opening was formed using a shallow vertical brick arch, keyed in the centre with a special shaped brick (can’t remember what it’s called). The brickie built up to the brick arch over a timber/plywood former, initially up to one course above the centre of the arch; he let this all go off for around a week & then build the rest of the chimney breast up over the top of it’ It looked fantastic when finished & never moved or cracked in the 18 years I lived there.