How to tell if lintels were fitted

the_matrix

thebaldwindowfitter wrote: »

"quote Furtsbut they are a red herring in the issue that has been raised.quote"

A lintel is designed to carry brickwork and various other structural items above openings ie windows and doors .It is an offence for any installer to install new windows or door and not install a lintel if one is required no matter how many courses of brick simples building regulations a http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_AD_A_2004.pdf .

Correct.

I installed a lintel with only one layer of bricks above it just to be on the safe side. TBH lintels aren't expensive but the damage caused when you don't install a lintel is very costly.

Norman_Castle

There seems to me to be some unfair suspicion of the window company. They added the cost of lintels to the price stating they may or may not be needed. They were stating the potential full costs. Once the windows were out they decided they were not needed. In a larger company paperwork showing this could take a few days to be checked before finalising the bill. The company has lost its profit from the £1800.

I would suspect dishonesty if they had sent a bill including the unfitted lintels and claimed it was an oversite when challenged but they seem to have been honest to me.

As a suggestion to answer the original question, could you drill into the mortar between the bricks. If you hit steel or concrete its likely to be a lintel.

thebaldwindowfitter

Norman Castle read the below again carefully the clue is here

Him: So total is £x, ok?
Me: That includes the lintels, which we still don't know if they were used or not.
Him: Well I'll have to phone my boss, the people at head office won't know.

To me now i might have read it wrong but the fitters told him a price the op queried lintels then the lintel cost was deducted so was possibly going to be ripped off

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Ok, so they were back today.
Different guys, though.

Me: Out of interest, do you know if the lintels were needed in the end last week?
Him: I don't know. it's not always easy to tell.

...

Him: All done. Need to phone through to head office to make payment.
<ring ring>
Him: So total is £x, ok?
Me: That includes the lintels, which we still don't know if they were used or not.
Him: Well I'll have to phone my boss, the people at head office won't know.
...
Him: No, they didn't need the lintels. We'll take the £1800 you were charged for them off the bill.
Me: Thank you very much!


Glad I asked, now! I wonder how many people end up paying for stuff like this without receiving it.


Thanks for your help on here, guys. I know we didn't get a definitive answer on here, and I would have asked them anyway, but it gave me the confidence to be pretty certain they weren't used.

JimmyTheWig

thebaldwindowfitter wrote: »

To me now i might have read it wrong but the fitters told him a price the op queried lintels then the lintel cost was deducted so was possibly going to be ripped off

Correct.
Had I not have queried it then I would have paid for the lintels that weren't used.

thebaldwindowfitter

Furts wrote: »

the bricks need supporting but they are a red herring in the issue that has been raised.

why is that please read above my previous posts your posts are nonsense and just confusing the issue

thebaldwindowfitter

Jimmy when you open up the sash in these windows can you see any screw heads going upwards and so going into a lintol if so try taking one out to see how long it is if not i would drill hole upwards making sure its gone through the frame and seeing if it hits steel

Norman_Castle

Him: All done. Need to phone through to head office to make payment.
<ring ring>
Him: So total is £x, ok?
Me: That includes the lintels, which we still don't know if they were used or not.
Him: Well I'll have to phone my boss, the people at head office won't know.
...
Him: No, they didn't need the lintels. We'll take the £1800 you were charged for them off the bill.

Is it possible the person putting the bill together didn't have all the information and didn't realise the lintels were optional?. I agree you could have been overcharged but it may have been inadvertent and been corrected with enough time between completing the whole job and finalising the bill.

Out of interest baldwindowfitter (I'm assuming you're a window fitter) how often are lintels needed when windows are replaced?.

JimmyTheWig

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Is it possible the person putting the bill together didn't have all the information and didn't realise the lintels were optional?

Yes, that is possible.

I agree you could have been overcharged but it may have been inadvertent and been corrected with enough time between completing the whole job and finalising the bill.

No, I was paying the final bill when I queried it.

I accept that there is a chance when they finalised the paperwork they may have realised that I had paid for something that I shouldn't have done and refunded me without me asking.

thebaldwindowfitter

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Is it possible the person putting the bill together didn't have all the information and didn't realise the lintels were optional?. I agree you could have been overcharged but it may have been inadvertent and been corrected with enough time between completing the whole job and finalising the bill.

Out of interest baldwindowfitter (I'm assuming you're a window fitter) how often are lintels needed when windows are replaced?.

I think your clutching at straws here if you read back the op made first post regarding lintels then the bay was fitted 4 days later im pretty sure the office would know because they would for one of had a fitting team doing nothing for at the very least half a day and any company who expects installers to collect payments on completion should have know relevant amounts due in any case

cyclonebri1

roddydogs wrote: »

Silly question, probably, but surely the old windows had a lintel above them?

There is a massive point to be made here;


The original windows would most likely have been load bearing, substantial wooden windows are.


Take them out and stick in PVC and reinforcement is needed, eg bay poles.


For JTW, the op, he didn't know this, but he needs to ensure the installer did and has accommodated the issues.