Minimum end bearing size for fireplace lintel

[emptyhead41]

Hey everyone. Never really posted on forums but have read some good stuff here so figure you’re the best people to ask.

Me and missus have just bought our first house and she’s kindly agreed to let me remove the electric fire that was in one of the rooms and take a hammer and chisel to the chimney breast

I was hoping to open it up to put in a stove of some kind and I’ve stripped it back enough to uncover a lovely sandstone lintel. I want to remove all the filler bricks but I’m a bit concerned about the size of the end bearings. If you look at the photos they look to be about 80mm ish.

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• emptyhead41
• 15 Sep 2018

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• emptyhead41
• 15 Sep 2018

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• emptyhead41
• 15 Sep 2018

As my lovely wife has been so kind to let me make a mess I’d prefer to not have the house fall down around us in return, so can anyone advise if they’ve seen anything like this before and if removing the filler under the lintel should be ok? I figured there should really be about 150mm bearing

Thanks very much

 

[noseall]

100mm is the industry standard minimum. However, this applies to beams of all lengths and sizes. I have also seen 50 year old buildings with structural beams sitting on as little as 60mm.

What you need to understand with your scenario is that very little masonry (if any) would fall down even if the lintel were missing. As long as the bearing bricks beneath are sound (including lower courses) then no worries.

 

[tomfe]

Waaaaaa!
Hang on!
Where did you manage to get your lovely wife from?

 

[emptyhead41]

Noseall: brilliant. Thank you. Really appreciate the advice. That’s interesting about it being the minimum for any beam. So a beam spanning the whole width of a house say should have 100mm but also small lintel over a doorway should have the same? Not what I’d have expected.

Anyway it all went well and it’s all been cleared out. Man, what a lot of bricks. And soot. Oh the soot! That was joyful.

Tomfe: I knew she’d find out I’d posted on here so figured I’d get some brownie points where I could before ruining the room

Actually while I’m here, any recommendations for cleaning the bricks in the least dusty way possible? I’d like to have them exposed but may have to just plasterboard over it. I’ve had enough dust for for now

 

[noseall]

And soot. Oh the soot!

Collect half a cupful of soot and mix it with half a cupful of cement and water - hey presto smelling salts.

Clears your head in the morning!

 

[tony1851]

Clearly you think the world of your wife. Show her that always, in every way you can, and you will have the good fortune to be blessed with a long and happy marriage.
BUT, when cleaning the bricks, don't use a wire brush in a high-speed electric drill, or a grinding disc in an angle grinder, or your marriage might not last quite so long - unless you volunteer to spend days cleaning the house from top to bottom.

 

[emptyhead41]

Hahaha thanks Tony. Noseall tried yr recipe. Tasted disgusting

 

[noseall]

Noseall tried yr recipe. Tasted disgusting

...er...tasted....never mind.

 

[stuart45]

People used to clean their teeth with soot.

 

[noseall]

People used to clean their teeth with soot.

Is that about the same time dentures became popular.

 

[CJRatch]

People used to clean their teeth with soot.

I use charcoal toothpaste it's very good indeed.

 

[stuart45]

You could get asbestos flavoured toothpaste as well.

https://www.rbasbestos.co.uk/asbestostoothpaste/

and it never did us any harm