Moving doorway with lintel

[JordH]

Hi,

I'm planning on moving the door 500mm to the right to give better access into our upstairs bedroom.

I've removed some of the plaster and exposed a lintel (you can see from the photo).

The wall is solid brick and runs parallel with the floor/ceiling joists (so assuming its non load bearing), however it does go down to the ground floor.

In the loft there is a small brick purlin support which comes off the same wall in the bedroom, however the support is around 1m from the edge of the doorway (tried doing a sketch to explain).

Am I okay to move the door over and change the lintel for a 500mm longer version or not?

The house was built in the 70's and I'm unsure if the lintels were always used just to support the few bricks above the doorway or whether its structural.

Thank you!

 

[tony1851]

The purlin prop won't affect your new lintel; any load will just go down vertically against the new door jamb.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The wall is solid brick and runs parallel with the floor/ceiling joists (so assuming its non load bearing), however it does go down to the ground floor.

That wall in your second photo, looks like a fairly recent, later addition - I wonder why?

 

[23vc]

That wall in your second photo, looks like a fairly recent, later addition - I wonder why?

Added to support the purlin mid-span, transferring load to a wall below.

I’ve had a SE make an informal recommendation for me to do similar in the past, there seems to be a view that the original design is under-specced in some cases. Presumably made worse by certain heavier roof tiles.

 

[JordH]

The purlin prop won't affect your new lintel; any load will just go down vertically against the new door jamb.

Hi Tony,

Thanks for that, the new doorway is actually moving away from the purlin prop so should be better if anything.

 

[JordH]

Added to support the purlin mid-span, transferring load to a wall below.

I’ve had a SE make an informal recommendation for me to do similar in the past, there seems to be a view that the original design is under-specced in some cases. Presumably made worse by certain heavier roof tiles.

That makes sense, the roof got replaced around 10 years ago. Seems like it's okay to go ahead and move the doorway/lintel!

 

[Collectors]

If you not sure, side acro prop above the lintel. Take the old lintel out & fit a longer one to cover the new & old area. 1800mm lintel is only £25.00.