"Tony Graham" no@ta wrote in message
o.uk...


Its the ground floor of an outside wall so I suppose it is holding up the
whole of the gable end!!!!

Unlikely, the bricks would fall away in an inverted triangle above it until
they reached the point where the outside walls supported the rest. The angle
is about 45 degrees.

Its more of a problem as the lintel could be supporting one or more
rafters/trusses (not likely if its on the ground floor) or joists depending
on how they run.