Gas fire installed - should there be a lintel???
 

Hi

I've just had an slimline blanced flue inset gas fire installed (Stdio 2 from https://www.stovax.com/stove-fire/st...ine-gas-fires/ )

It required a new hole around 90cm * 45cm to be fitted into (no chimney involved) - the work was surveyed by the fire company and performed by a Gas Safe registered installer and the fire works just fine.

A small vertical hairline crack has appeared in the existing wall which runs all the way to the ceiling - I'm pretty sure no lintel was installed but I wasn't around when it was installed.

Should it have been? The interior wall is standard breeze block so there would only be a couple of entire blocks hovering above the space.

The fire won't be load bearing but the above wall goes all the way the the apex of the house, so a good 6-7m?

So - should a lintel have been inserted as part of the job?

Gavin

Gas fire installed - should there be a lintel???
 

On 04/02/2018 20:49, Gavinda Jaya Jaya wrote:
Hi

I've just had an slimline blanced flue inset gas fire installed (Stdio 2 from https://www.stovax.com/stove-fire/st...ine-gas-fires/ )

It required a new hole around 90cm * 45cm to be fitted into (no chimney involved) - the work was surveyed by the fire company and performed by a Gas Safe registered installer and the fire works just fine.

A small vertical hairline crack has appeared in the existing wall which runs all the way to the ceiling - I'm pretty sure no lintel was installed but I wasn't around when it was installed.

Should it have been? The interior wall is standard breeze block so there would only be a couple of entire blocks hovering above the space.

The fire won't be load bearing but the above wall goes all the way the the apex of the house, so a good 6-7m?

So - should a lintel have been inserted as part of the job?

Gavin

Yes.
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Gas fire installed - should there be a lintel???
 

On 04/02/2018 20:49, Gavinda Jaya Jaya wrote:
Hi

I've just had an slimline blanced flue inset gas fire installed
(Stdio 2 from
https://www.stovax.com/stove-fire/st...ine-gas-fires/
)

It required a new hole around 90cm * 45cm to be fitted into (no
chimney involved) - the work was surveyed by the fire company and
performed by a Gas Safe registered installer and the fire works just
fine.

Assuming the 90cm is the width, then that is wider than a standard door,
and that would usually have a lintel.

So - should a lintel have been inserted as part of the job?

Seems pretty likely.

(45cm on a block wall would be less of an issue)

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John.

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Gas fire installed - should there be a lintel???
 

John Rumm wrote:

On 04/02/2018 20:49, Gavinda Jaya Jaya wrote:
Hi

I've just had an slimline blanced flue inset gas fire installed (Stdio 2
from
https://www.stovax.com/stove-fire/st...slimline-gas-f
ires/ )

It required a new hole around 90cm * 45cm to be fitted into (no
chimney involved) - the work was surveyed by the fire company and
performed by a Gas Safe registered installer and the fire works just
fine.

Assuming the 90cm is the width, then that is wider than a standard door,
and that would usually have a lintel.

So - should a lintel have been inserted as part of the job?

Seems pretty likely.

(45cm on a block wall would be less of an issue)

It's perhaps worth pointing out that minor cracking is quite likely even
if it does have a satisfactory lintel. Provided it does not get any
bigger it is probably fine to just fill it. As far as a lintel is
concerned, the OP could ask the people who did it, test with a magnet
(although the lintel might not be steel) or if all else fails cut a
strip out of the plaster to check.




--

Roger Hayter

Gas fire installed - should there be a lintel???
 

On 05/02/2018 01:33, Roger Hayter wrote:
John Rumm wrote:

On 04/02/2018 20:49, Gavinda Jaya Jaya wrote:
Hi

I've just had an slimline blanced flue inset gas fire installed (Stdio 2
from
https://www.stovax.com/stove-fire/st...slimline-gas-f
ires/ )

It required a new hole around 90cm * 45cm to be fitted into (no
chimney involved) - the work was surveyed by the fire company and
performed by a Gas Safe registered installer and the fire works just
fine.

Assuming the 90cm is the width, then that is wider than a standard door,
and that would usually have a lintel.

So - should a lintel have been inserted as part of the job?

Seems pretty likely.

(45cm on a block wall would be less of an issue)

It's perhaps worth pointing out that minor cracking is quite likely even
if it does have a satisfactory lintel. Provided it does not get any
bigger it is probably fine to just fill it. As far as a lintel is
concerned, the OP could ask the people who did it, test with a magnet
(although the lintel might not be steel) or if all else fails cut a
strip out of the plaster to check.

As Roger says, even if they have fitted a lintel- which I would expect-
small cracks are not uncommon after such work. If nothing else, the heat
from the new fire may have contributed to it.

I'm not so sure re a magnet- even a decent cover of render and plaster
will probably be enough to mean the distance between the surface of the
wall and the lintel is too big for a magnet to work.

I'd try a stud finder. While these are designed to detect wood behind
plasterboard, they do detect other things. I've used mine to detect
wood behind a metal skinned, 50mm insulated, motorhome body.

Try first somewhere you known there is/should be a lintel.




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Gas fire installed - should there be a lintel???
 

Blimey, I think it most certainly should, however even if they are,
sometimes setting out due to the different loading can still give rise to
cracks at some time in the future.

Brian

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"Gavinda Jaya Jaya" wrote in message
...
Hi

I've just had an slimline blanced flue inset gas fire installed (Stdio 2
from
https://www.stovax.com/stove-fire/st...ine-gas-fires/ )

It required a new hole around 90cm * 45cm to be fitted into (no chimney
involved) - the work was surveyed by the fire company and performed by a
Gas Safe registered installer and the fire works just fine.

A small vertical hairline crack has appeared in the existing wall which
runs all the way to the ceiling - I'm pretty sure no lintel was installed
but I wasn't around when it was installed.

Should it have been? The interior wall is standard breeze block so there
would only be a couple of entire blocks hovering above the space.

The fire won't be load bearing but the above wall goes all the way the the
apex of the house, so a good 6-7m?

So - should a lintel have been inserted as part of the job?

Gavin

Gas fire installed - should there be a lintel???
 

Gavinda Jaya Jaya formulated the question :
A small vertical hairline crack has appeared in the existing wall which runs
all the way to the ceiling - I'm pretty sure no lintel was installed but I
wasn't around when it was installed.

Should it have been? The interior wall is standard breeze block so there
would only be a couple of entire blocks hovering above the space.

Most certainly, there should have been a lintel installed.