Conservatory lintel or not, that is the question!!

[Sooboo]

Hello
I have checked in my local area that by building a conservatory 3x4 metres, double hip, leaving existing kitchen door/wall intact and not extending central heating I am within building regs. But I am confused by the actual build!
The conservatory we want to build will have a double hip upvc glass roof. It will have two brick built high sided walls, possibly with small upvc windows at the top where the roof will sit. (This will enable the inside to be plastered and look more like a room). The front of the conservatory, that looks directly out onto the garden, will have brick returns from the side walls but then a large upvc opening with doors (not bifold) which again will have the roof sitting on it. Because this conservatory will all be attached to the back of the house, which has a low roof, we also need to have boxed guttering. But......does any of this require lintels to be used?? One builder has said 'yes' needed to the front above the opening but two double glazing companies have said 'no'. Where ever I look on the Internet pictures of conservatories appears to be as simple as a upvc glazed roof sat onto upvc glazed walls with no use of lintels. Are lintels just dependant on how deep my foundations will be dug to take into account the brick walls?
Any help/ advice would be really appreciated. I am trying to organise this project without the help of my husband who has sadly had a stroke and would benefit from this 'new room'. Thanks

 

[foxhole]

My conservatory 3.5 x 4.5 uses a tie bar to prevent roof spread, examples below.
http://www.acornrv.co.uk/tie_bar_kits.html

http://www.lbsupplies.co.uk/tie-bar-kits/

 

[crank39]

Do you happen to know the make of the roof by any chance?...

K2
Ultraframe
Global
Aztec
Quantal

Generally conservatories have whats call a ring beam encompassing the whole conservatory tying all the frames together, if its attatched to the house the ring beam will only be 3 sided with the box gutter making the forth side. This ring beam is part of the roof kit and sits on top of the frames, the roof sections bolt to this i.e. the hip rafters, the jack rafters etc etc. This ring beam depending on the system used will either be an aluminium box section probably in the region of 6" x 3", other systems use an 'L' shaped section, both could be construed as lintels as they are an important structural part of the conservatory including the box gutter.

So long as the frames are all level across the tops along the front then the ring beam sit on these nicely, the frames will happily support the ring beam and glass roof all day long, no other lintels are required, now if you were fitting say a 5/6 panel bi-fold in the front then i would be looking at incorparating a lintel of some sort and then the ring beam on top of that but as your not then you have nothing to worry about

Hope this helps

 

[s60tsy]

Untitled

• s60tsy
• 15 Nov 2013
• 2

Untitled

• s60tsy
• 15 Nov 2013
• 1

 

[Sooboo]

Thanks Crank39 we're looking at using K2 Capella system

Do you happen to know the make of the roof by any chance?...

K2
Ultraframe
Global
Aztec
Quantal

Generally conservatories have whats call a ring beam encompassing the whole conservatory tying all the frames together, if its attatched to the house the ring beam will only be 3 sided with the box gutter making the forth side. This ring beam is part of the roof kit and sits on top of the frames, the roof sections bolt to this i.e. the hip rafters, the jack rafters etc etc. This ring beam depending on the system used will either be an aluminium box section probably in the region of 6" x 3", other systems use an 'L' shaped section, both could be construed as lintels as they are an important structural part of the conservatory including the box gutter.

So long as the frames are all level across the tops along the front then the ring beam sit on these nicely, the frames will happily support the ring beam and glass roof all day long, no other lintels are required, now if you were fitting say a 5/6 panel bi-fold in the front then i would be looking at incorparating a lintel of some sort and then the ring beam on top of that but as your not then you have nothing to worry about

Hope this helps

 

[s60tsy]

My last pics were the Aztec system, with the standard heavy duty box section ring beam, an even more heavy duty rb is available that can have a steel lintel inserted for bifolds