Builders Opening

Keith99

I've been slowly doing up my house and decided after doing a bit of research that I would take out my old fire place and open up the builders opening...

So I have taken out the old fireplace and stripped back the plaster for some of it - however I'm not sure if it has a lintel or are the bricks supporting in?

Pictures below

Doozergirl

We don't have the complete picture of what you can see. Left hand side is missing.

And you don't have the complete picture until you've knocked more plaster off both sides anyway.

It looks like the original brick arch has been messed with already and there is a lintel underneath, but I can't see a solid bearing yet, so don't remove anything internals until you find what might support the lintel/arch at the sides.

Keith99

Doozergirl wrote: »

We don't have the complete picture of what you can see. Left hand side is missing.

And you don't have the complete picture until you've knocked more plaster off both sides anyway.

It looks like the original brick arch has been messed with already and there is a lintel underneath, but I can't see a solid bearing yet, so don't remove anything internals until you find what might support the lintel/arch at the sides.

Very helpful as always (not in a sarcastic way), I agree it does look like a lintel beneath the arch - which is a shame.

I will pull a bit more plaster off tomorrow.

Kiran

Once you hack a bit more plaster off post another photo. Providing that you've got minimum 150mm bearing on each end of the lintel the brickwork above is redundant. I'm not sure that is an arch, it looks like a course of brick on edge on top of the lintel?

As per the advice you've already been given, hang fire on any knocking out unto you have the full picture.

TRB

Ideally you should have 150mm but 100mm will do , As the angle of repose on brickwork is 45 degrees it will be supporting very little .

Keith99

Just knocked some more off and measures the lintel at 13cm.

Doozergirl

Nice.

I'd put a fireplace over it, personally. There's not much to look at!

Keith99

Doozergirl wrote: »

Nice.

I'd put a fireplace over it, personally. There's not much to look at!

Haha agreed, I'm thinking of changing the bricks inside the fireplace (to decent bricks) and then plastering the outside.

Lintel looks like it is good enough to take the weight, so will strip the middle out soon.

this kind of thing

Doozergirl

That's Lovely

Keith99

Its been a while and I haven't got very far but need some opinions on what I can do.



The red arrows point to the bricks I want to get rid of but they have bricks above for another 5/6 rows and then seem to stop.

Can I just take the bricks out below?

Kiran

Have you got a photo above the Intel? The left hand red arrow is just infill of the builders opening, can't see the right hand red arrow