lintels / headers

[pwpriory]

I have a door to the cupboard under the stairs which is only about 50mm square. I would like to enlarge this by making a triangular space above it up to the level of the stairs.
The wall involved is of single brick running from floor to loft (enclosing stairs). It is not a load-bearing wall (apart from the stairs and its own weight??)
1. Do I need a lintel?
2. If so, what type:something special, presumably, as the load of the wall above the doorway will then be at an angle?
Thanks
Paul

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

do you have picture you can upload of this area?

 

[pwpriory]

Here is a picture (I hope) of the area previously referred to. The red line shows the approx line of the (wooden) stairs on the other side of the (single thickness) brick wall. I want to add a triangular enlargement to the doorway almost up to the red line.

As you can see from the 300mm ruler, the entrance is very small for the meter man to get into (meters are somewhere round to the right!) There is a porch on the other side of the door with the window.
Thanks
Paul

Special lintels / headers

• pwpriory
• 27 Apr 2011
• 1

The read line shows approx line of (wooden) stairs on the other side of (single) brick wall. I...

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[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

I don't think you would have a problem knocking in to that, the staircase should be supported higher up, within adjacent wall.
I thought your door was bigger than 50mm!

 

[pwpriory]

Nice one! I did indeed mean a <500>mm square door. Any smaller and the meter man would have even more difficulty.

Thanks for your reply. It was more the wall itself I was worried about (moving sideways because of the unsupported slope above the doorway)

Paul