"Lobster" wrote in message
om...
Probably a daft question but what the hell...

If you are fitting a lintel over an opening, to support several tons
of masonry above, how do you get an adequate amount of mortar into the
(hopefully small) gap above the lintel and below the bricks it's
supporting? Do you have to just force the stuff in with a trowel and
hope you don't have any airgaps inside? Presumably if there is
insufficient set mortar in there, at best you run the risk of the wall
"settling" once the acros are removed... what's the secret?

David

Leaving a gap between the lintel and the masonry will mean the bricks are
not supported properly and will drop onto the lintel. Dropping bricks, even
by a slight amount, is not what you want. The lintel is put there to hold
the bricks in one place so should actually be resting on the lintel with
nothing between them. To tidy up the edge you can point some mortar along
it, but this shouldn't be necessary if the lintel is being boxed in
correctly.