Fire lintel...such a thing?

[urbanvisa]

I’m very competent in my own work, but as it’s down to structural I just need some sound advise on a matter that suddenly opened up.

I’m just about to raise the lintel on the chimney ready for a new hole in the wall type fire, as the fire is also slightly wider and seeing as the lintel has to be moved I thought I would just get a quick quote on a new one, from a place called Elliots, and they quoted 525 for one 1500mm in length! (and I did check, that was the price for one…it must fit itself)

But on looking at wickes all the steel renforced concrete lintels are under a tenner!

Am I missing something?

Do I need a ‘special fire proofed/safe’ lintel? I thought all of tem are the same?

My plan is to fit a new lintel at the new desired height and then to knock away all the brickwork and old lintel.

As for structural, the house is a supporting building at the end of a row and leans to one side, what I’m trying to say is it doesn’t lean towards the fire opening.

 

[Alastairreid]

Do I need a ‘special fire proofed/safe’ lintel? I thought all of tem are the same?

Reinforced concrete lintel will do the job just fine!

 

[urbanvisa]

so any of these are fine then?

Wickes lintels

i was just a bit bemused by the price at elliots

cheers alastair

 

[ChapiTheBricky]

a fire lintel is made the same way as a concrete lintel apart from the fact that it skews back at an angle to allow the smoke to flow unobstructed to the chimney, as long as there's nothing smoking in the fireplace you'll be fine