Lintels

For the Trade

The first question is what the opening is carrying and how much room you’ve got to work with. That usually decides the lintel before anything else. For a straightforward job, concrete lintels are often the economical call. Steel lintels come into play where span, load, or build-up needs a slimmer section. Cavity lintels and solid wall lintels are not interchangeable. Replacement lintels matter on remedial work, where you’re matching what’s already there. The jobs that go wrong are usually the ones where the opening was measured right, but the wall type was guessed.

Types of Lintels

If you’re sorting lintels for a job, the main split is between cavity lintels, solid wall lintels and heavier load bearing options.

Cavity lintels suit the usual two-leaf build because they keep the support where it needs to be. Solid wall lintels are the better fit for a single leaf or an older wall build-up.

Load bearing lintels come in when the opening is carrying more above it. You give up some simplicity, and you’ll usually check the spec more closely.

Building Supplies is the parent range if you’re matching the lintel to the rest of the job.

Selection Factors for Lintels

Material choice usually settles the argument faster than anything else. Steel lintels are the one to reach for when you want a firmer face and more confidence on tougher daily use. The trade-off is handling. They’re heavier to move than acrylic on many sites.

Concrete lintels are the quieter pick when weight and cost matter more than a harder finish. They work well where the opening does not need the same level of impact resistance, but they are not the answer for every job.

If you’re picking up matching materials at the same time, Aggregates & Chemicals and Brickworking are usually the next counters to check, especially when the opening detail or surrounding work is changing the spec.

Finish the Room

Once the lintels are chosen, the next call is usually what’s going around them. If the opening is being rebuilt, you’ll often need brickworking to match the surrounding course work, and aggregates & chemicals for the mortar and any bedding or repair work that follows.

Where the job is a replacement, check the adjacent finish before you leave. A clean lintel change still gets judged on the reveal and the patching around it. That’s the bit that usually decides whether the job looks finished or just covered up.