What type of lintel?

[Andy vincent]

Hi all, first time posting.

I’m wanting to extend my bathroom into a walk in cupboard that the spare bedroom has. The wall I’ll be taking out is one side of the staircase from ground to first floor. (Either side of the staircase is red brick supporting wall) they support the ceiling joists in the middle of the attic ‘floor’ I say ‘floor’because there are no boards, it’s just joists and insulation up there.

I’d like to remove the entire course of bricks from floor to joists rather than having the lintel set lower. The ceiling height is about 9.5ft.

On one side, the lintel will rest on the same wall which I’ll be creating the opening in, on the other side, it will slot into the inner wythe of the edge of the property. (I will cut a hole into this, slot in the lintel and cement in place).

my main concerns are - which lintel should I use for the 2.4m length, including the 150mm each side, which will be supporting the joists? I assumed concrete at first, but now having second thoughts with it not having any mortar and brick work above it and I don’t want it to crack in the middle. Is a wooden lintel/ beam an option?

also - how would you go about lifting said lintel you 9.5ft? Would a 2.4m lintel be doable with 3 men? (Unsure on their weight too)

I have had builders quote for this and some other work, but been let down by 2 now. Chimney breast removing they said needed building control to come out, this one they say does not, which is why id like to tackle it myself.

As a side note, the width of the staircase is 80cm. Meaning one supporting wall is 80cm away from the section of the wall I’ll be removing. I will still use acrow props, but do you think I’d need one on each joist or could I use a length of 4x4 in line but at the side of the wall and use 3 props on this?
(if I were placing the lintel lower, I’d obviously remove bricks, use strongboy and lintel to support along)

Thanks, Andy

 

[QfanatiQ]

In all seriousness have you got can you get a friendly SE (structural engineer).
The removal of the chimney breast does need BC.
Any change in structure should. When you come to sell, you need to prove compliance and structural stability.

I feel, with this, you could work with an SE and BC directly
You don't need an Architect or Architectural Technician
With the BC inspecting works, you could still do it yourself

Do you have any sketches or photos you can share lintel area?
I can't comment on chimney breast, that's usually steel work fixed the broken out from top down.

Cheers,,,,Q