Lintel in the house wall

[Oldskoolskater]

Hello All

You may think this request is odd but please bear with me! I need a lintel putting into the side of the house and am wondering about the best way of going about it. Our house is on a hill and has a very short drive out the back. Several other people in the street already have lintels in their houses which allow them to basically drive the bonnet of their car under the kitchen. I would like to be able to do the same but don't know who to approach to do it. Do I speak direct to a builder who may bodge the job and leave me with no comeback when my house falls down, or do I get a structural engineer to draw plans up to which a builder works to the spec? Note that I will definitely not be trying to do this job myself. I am competent, but not insane! Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Steve

[BigWallop]

The lintel dimensions are proportional to the load weight and the length of span covered, so get an engineer to work things out then call in a builder.

[Roger Mills]

And don't forget that you'll need to get Building Regs approval. It wouldn't do any harm to have an informal chat with a BCO at your local council before going any further.

Roger

[Oldskoolskater]

local council before going any further.

BCO? Please expand.

Was I right in assuming that it would be a structural engineer I would have to see, and not an architect or somebody else?

Cheers

Steve

[BigWallop]

BCO = Buildings Control Office

The BCO would be able to advise you on this because it will probably need permission. A good structural engineer will most likely have to be involved somewhere along the line.