"Paul King" wrote in message ws.com...
"TP" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

My house is a victorian terrace , the windows typically have a stone
lintel above them which is visible from the exterior. I have one
window that someone in the distant past has seen fit to increase the
size of. They have fitted a pretty bog standard looking single glazed
window.

Now my concern is that there doesnt appear to be any extenstion in the
lintel width - in fact other than the old lintel (which now only goes
half way over the width of the window) - there is no other support -
never really thought about it before - luckily there is no sagging -
but there is a small crack extending upward from the corner of the old
lintel which is a tad scary!

Now Im thinking of getting new double glazing put into this window as
the frames are starting to rot (nothing too major mind).

Does anyone know if double glazing can be supplied with load bearing
frames. Do such frames exist and are they very expensive? It seems
like a got opportunity to sort out this lack of decent support.

There is such a thing as load bearing window frames, but upvc are the
weakest of all, and wont stand a chance of doing that. You'd be
looking at stone, concrete or steel - and the latter I would not want.
It may also be possible to do it with hardwood, but the wood would be
quite large. Internal softwood lintels are standard kit in Victoriana.


I think you are worrying excessively over nothing at all...
Let's face it, there's no such thing as "load bearing single glazed
windows", so if the current one has survived this long, the new D/G window
will too!

If there is no full width lintel, and brickwork above, then its most
likely unsafe. One case surviving doesnt equal safe.

And there are load bearing windows. And there are cases where such
have been replaced by upvc, with costly results.


Realistically though, you'll probably find that a steel lintel was fitted
when the window was resized - it would have to, to meet building regs.

Probably, but not necessarily. I have seen things like this done with
no lintel at all: it stayed up for, I'm not sure, maybe 10 years, then
started to collapse. So I would find out whats there myself.


If you want to do a "proper job" and make the lintel match the rest of the
house - so that it looks dimentionally in line with the rest - you'll have
to search Architectural Salvage Yards to locate a near equivalent
shape/apature length match before fitting the new D/G. This would probably
be my way to go - then have it professionally fitted (waranty, guarantee,
insurance etc.)

Just one caveat. This is the only window enlarged, and a greater span
will need a greater thickness of stone. A piece of the same material
and same dimensions will not be adequate, even to Victorian standards,
let alone todays standards. But maybe it could be combined with a
steel lintel above it, so you get the right look plus the strength
from the steel. I'm not sure though, as any bending of the steel may
transfer the forces to the stone.

If in doubt get qualified advice. I am _not_ advising you in any way
here, just exploring possible options.


Regards, NT