Will a arched fireplace need a lintel?

Question

hi all, we have been doing a bit of ameteur DIY and trully underestimated the work involved in opening a fire place up! we live in an old victorian house, the fire place we took out and behind that you can see the origianal. but theres newer bricks in and a small lintel,,, higher up is the origianal brick arch that would of been. We cant find a lintel above that, and to get to that we need to remove the existing lower down lintel. Im worried though if we take the lower lintel out we will have the ceiling crash down on us too lol. it is only a small arch but wide but is deffo the origianal. We have been told it is fine and will support the wall but were not too sure,, need a second opinion!! anyone in the know????

Answer 1

An arch relies on a "keystone" to stop it falling in. It is the mainstone in the middle of an arch.

Answer 2

If you take out one brick at a time, the ceiling won't come crashing down.  The mortar above the newer opening will be dry, so it should come away easily.  Even if you leave the wall unsupported, it will take weeks for the bottom layer of bricks to fall off and years before you get to the ceiling.

A brick arch provides better support than a concrete lintel.  However, it needs a complete wall either side to support it.  You can take away the bricks from underneath, but make sure you replace any bricks that were removed to put in the lintel.   Also make sure that any holes in the mortar are made good.

Very often with Victorian brick arches, there is a mild steel former underneath.  This supported the bricks while the original mortar dried.  Leave it in and it will provide extra support.   If there isn't one and you still have doubts about the structure, buy a strip of mild steel and hammer it into place under the arch.

Answer 3

the arch is the original the lintel and brickwork was put in to fit a tiled surround the arch will support all the wall above it  as the side walls would have to be pushed out before the arch would give way

Answer 4

Victorian engineers were more confident than modern ones (who have to worry about PI Insurance) and would happliy rely on an arch. This is the way window openings are traditionally formed in solid brickwork. It's almost certain that the joists for the ceiling are spanning the other way - you wouldn't want to ignite your floor structure when you were having a fire in your grate. There will be a hearthstone, though if there is a room above.

Even with a lintol you are only supporting the triangle above it - the bond of the brickwork forms a natural arch. If you are worried though it is worth getting an engineer to look at it properly - you might be affected by other matters - stability of the external stack - party wall act if its on a wall shared with your neighbour, etc. It is also illegal to undertake structual work in the UK without Building Regs approval (some exceptions). On-line opnions are no substitute for proper professional advice.

Answer 5

There is absolutely no way for anyone here to form an opinion on your situation. You need a professional!! Or just do it and see what happenss....but in this case I'll say better safe than sorry.