I am building an extension whose roof will be supported on the brick
wall above 2 existing lintels (over the kitchen which sticks out from
house downstairs, and over the back room which has a small bay
downstairs only). The plans say the ability of the lintels to bear the
roof must be assessed.
Best way to do this ? I guess the lintels will need to be exposed at
each end where they go into the wall, but will I need to get a struct
eng to come round and sign it off, or get the BCO to have a look.
Thing is, I wasn't going to get the BCO involved yet, but I need to
check out the lintels before I put a temporary wall in under them to
enable demolition of the back part of the kitchen and the rear bay.
This is kind of reverse of the "knocking through" process that usually
happens at the end.
Those with experience - best way to proceed ?
Cheers,
Simon.

In message .com,
sm_jamieson writes
I am building an extension whose roof will be supported on the brick
wall above 2 existing lintels (over the kitchen which sticks out from
house downstairs, and over the back room which has a small bay
downstairs only). The plans say the ability of the lintels to bear the
roof must be assessed.
Best way to do this ? I guess the lintels will need to be exposed at
each end where they go into the wall, but will I need to get a struct
eng to come round and sign it off, or get the BCO to have a look.
Thing is, I wasn't going to get the BCO involved yet, but I need to
check out the lintels before I put a temporary wall in under them to
enable demolition of the back part of the kitchen and the rear bay.
This is kind of reverse of the "knocking through" process that usually
happens at the end.
Those with experience - best way to proceed ?
Cheers,
Simon.


The engineer doing the specifications for structural work on our place
said the same thing, some lintels have to be exposed for assesment. The
basic rule is if it is wood or metal, they can calculate a capacity by
its size/span. If its concrete, there is no way to know the strength.

Hth
--
Someone

On 30 Apr 2007 05:29:27 -0700, a particular chimpanzee, sm_jamieson
randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

I am building an extension whose roof will be supported on the brick
wall above 2 existing lintels (over the kitchen which sticks out from
house downstairs, and over the back room which has a small bay
downstairs only). The plans say the ability of the lintels to bear the
roof must be assessed.
Best way to do this ? I guess the lintels will need to be exposed at
each end where they go into the wall, but will I need to get a struct
eng to come round and sign it off, or get the BCO to have a look.

BCO. The lintels really just need to be inspected visually to make
sure there are some there, that they are not ludicrously underspec'ed
(eg, a bit of 5mm plate), and that they will be suitable for building
a wall over. Provided you've got a reasonable Catnic or similar type,
there shouldn't be much of a problem.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
just how far from the pack have you strayed?"

On 6 May, 09:17, Hugo Nebula abuse@localhost wrote:
On 30 Apr 2007 05:29:27 -0700, a particular chimpanzee, sm_jamieson
randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

I am building an extension whose roof will be supported on the brick
wall above 2 existing lintels (over the kitchen which sticks out from
house downstairs, and over the back room which has a small bay
downstairs only). The plans say the ability of the lintels to bear the
roof must be assessed.
Best way to do this ? I guess the lintels will need to be exposed at
each end where they go into the wall, but will I need to get a struct
eng to come round and sign it off, or get the BCO to have a look.

BCO. The lintels really just need to be inspected visually to make
sure there are some there, that they are not ludicrously underspec'ed
(eg, a bit of 5mm plate), and that they will be suitable for building
a wall over. Provided you've got a reasonable Catnic or similar type,
there shouldn't be much of a problem.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
just how far from the pack have you strayed?"

Well I phoned BCO, he said if they are already present and supporting
the upper floor wall, they should be OK. He said build your temp wall
under them, there will still be no problem with them seeing enough. I
guess if they turned out to be rusted through that would be another
matter, but I've had a little peep and they seem OK. After all, they
have been "indoors" for years.
Simon.