Cavity meter box: lintel required?

I take it you are bustin out a hole in the wall?

If so, install a lintel for the width of the brick (normally 100mm i stretcher bond facework) x the width of the opening plus 100mm bearin each side

-- Cordless Crazy

Looking at mine, the box only has to support 1 brick immediately above it. If you put a lintel in instead, then the lintel would be supporting no bricks as it would replace the 1 brick which needs supporting. Hence, no lintel.

A friend of mine who built an extension some years back built a catflap in one of the walls. He put a lintel over that, and the BCO thought it was very funny.

I don't have a definitive answer for the OP, but I noticed that Catnic make a steel lintel (ref CNZ94A; only in 600 or 750mm lengths) specifically for use over meter boxes. So presumably applications must exist where they are needed.

David

Technically ,yes. There will be some movement in the box which can cause the bricks resting on it to move and a little stepped crack in the joints above.

Structurally though, there is no need for a lintel as the small area of bricks above will self-support.

And if you are going to do it properly, don't forget the cavity tray and a couple of weep holes

dg

Many thanks for all your replies. A friend advised that a lintel