Destroyed lintel with a drill what now?

[Halfaudio]

Hello. I am feeling defeated buy my lintel problem above the window and can a knowing person clear things up for me

What happened? I was using my standard weak drill not sds because i was too lazy to get it and this one was very handy next to me.. I was drilling a hole to make some string lines for ceiling leveling and well it ended with a disaster i cracked the whole thing...

In need of a single leaf lintel (inside wall only) outside one is in a great condition.
Opening size 1370
Existing concrete lintel size 1600x180x110
What products would you recommend?
Ideally would be massive hardwood like in other bedrooms but looks like that is out of picture with the new regs, so next option concrete but the new sizes are way off?

It's an old house but the heavy stone roof is off now sadly and the weight it carries isn't that massive anymore.
Steel is not really the best option and it might rust and i don't like new things it has worked for 95 years with simple lintel..And adding blinds to steel isn't an easy option either...

 

[Halfaudio]

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[tony1851]

You can use a timber lintel if you want - timber is perfectly acceptable as long as it is plasterboarded to give fire protection.
On that sort of span, something like a 150 x 100 would do or - even better - two 150 x 50s screwed together.

 

[Halfaudio]

Will it hold the weight with no sagging? We have hardwood in the other rooms as well they seems to be holding with no issues since day one. I will board it over with fire resistant plasterboard that i have left over from kitchen job. Should i use wood treatment just to be safe? Any improvements necessary in the cavity wall? like a damp proof membrane or bitumen(probably overkill) to stop the water from getting on top of it? Thanks for your time i do appreciate it.

 

[Halfaudio]

Bump

 

[Halfaudio]

I will appreciate any knowledge or experience in this matter

 

[Ian H]

What the nearest you can get? I’d get one of those and pack the top with slate.

 

[ivixor]

PS get yourself a laser level. Fiddling about with bits of string is old hat nowadays.

 

[tony1851]

Will it hold the weight with no sagging? We have hardwood in the other rooms as well they seems to be holding with no issues since day one. I will board it over with fire resistant plasterboard that i have left over from kitchen job. Should i use wood treatment just to be safe? Any improvements necessary in the cavity wall? like a damp proof membrane or bitumen(probably overkill) to stop the water from getting on top of it? Thanks for your time i do appreciate it.

On that span, a 150 deep piece of timber won't deflect to any appreciable extent.
If it's a cavity wall, you would need some sort of cavity tray to deflect any water getting in through the outer skin from pooling over the frame, but you would need that regardless of what type of lintel you replace the broken one with.

 

[^woody^]

If you are going to replace it, then why mess about with risky timber, when you can just throw a concrete or steel one in and be done with it?

 

[Halfaudio]

If you are going to replace it, then why mess about with risky timber, when you can just throw a concrete or steel one in and be done with it?

Steel loves to rust and expand and make things bad. Concentrate is heavy and fragile. Wood can be water damaged or eaten away but when treated really well it will last forever look at the wood in this house still holds well no soft spots or wet rot i have checked all the roof with no issues. And wood is easy to work with and easy to srew blinds in. I know that concrete should be the way to go but the sizes are odd and i have to cut the bricks in half horizontally to get that extra space filled in because the new ones are smaller in size.

 

[Halfaudio]

PS get yourself a laser level. Fiddling about with bits of string is old hat nowadays.

I don't understand how it works and working in such old house with a level seems a bit disrespectful because everything is more or less out of level you are just trying to find the sweet spot

 

[Leofric]

Steel loves to rust and expand and make things bad.

Galvanised steel lintels are quite popular so there are going to be a lot of problems in buildings all over the country if you are right

 

[Halfaudio]

Galvanised steel lintels are quite popular so there are going to be a lot of problems in buildings all over the country if you are right

I have seen them rusting myself bricks lifted and water seeping past even more and things get pretty ugly and those are the biggest cold spots in the house because if you have a little research steel lintels will chill your house.

 

[tony1851]

If you are going to replace it, then why mess about with risky timber, when you can just throw a concrete or steel one in and be done with it?

What on earth's 'risky' about timber?
Easier, lighter, can be cut to the right length and notched, and easy to fix plasterboard and curtain rail etc.