I tried searching through the news group before asking but a search on uk.d-i-y for the word Lintel on Google Groups only returned 6 results (very odd).
Anyway, the previous owners of my house extended out both floors to add space onto the kitchen and bath room. It doesn't look like a Lintel was put above the back door (it's below the maximum width for an opening without a lintel I think), however, there is also a small window in the same wall next to the back door.
It seems to my untrained eye that the vertical load has pushed down on this, and, running from the top corner of the door frame, down to the window, and then all the way down to near the ground cause a big crack to appear.
After poking around the neighbours yard where it joins with the extension and also inspecting the concrete area out the back around this part of the house I don't believe it's subsidence and think that it's purely a load based fault (if I'm wrong here then please let me know).
What type of lintel do you use in a solid red brick type external wall? I'm thinking of ripping out the single back door and window and replacing with a double french door type opening (figure if I have to do the work to fit a lintel I might as well make improvements whilst I'm at it), so, how do I go about sizing a lintel of this type. Lastly, I know I need to get the BCO involved at some point, when do I do this, and, do I need to get anyone else involved? (structural surveyor perhaps?).
any comments would be extremely helpful.
thanks
Seri