Lintel supply issues

[djcdan]

Does anyone know of any steel lintel supplier taking orders right now with a lead time without 8 weeks?

 

I have been in conversation with Keystone for several weeks and the order was all but confirmed, but this morning they confirmed that their allocation had been taken up by a large house building firm and wouldn't supply our build... ?

Not impressed that we went through all the pre-sales chat to confirm our order to be told this after order confirmation. Has anyone successfully placed orders for steel lintels recently? If so, with who?

TIA

[Moonshine]

51 minutes ago, djcdan said:

Does anyone know of any steel lintel supplier taking orders right now with a lead time without 8 weeks?

 

Try condell?

Thankfully i have got all my lintels sorted bar two large ones going over bi-folds, though i am thinking that i may change these to RSJ's due to the shortage.

Edited June 16, 2021 by Moonshine

[James Newport]

Not recently, but last year during all the Covid fun I was able to get a steel lintel from https://condell-ltd.com/ in Sutton, so they might be worth a shot. 

 

It got shipped from London, back to South Wales, to my house, which is about 15 minutes away from the lintel factory who weren't taking orders at the time...

[PeterW]

+1 to using Condell - give them a call and send a list and they will advise what’s available. 

[djcdan]

Thanks all @Moonshine @James Newport @PeterW

 

I'll make contact with Condell.

[Nick Laslett]

@djcdan Hello, my builder ordered my steel beams from https://www.lemonsteel.co.uk. They just arrived today, and the order was finalised 26th May.

Edited June 16, 2021 by Nick Laslett

[djcdan]

Does anyone have experience of using concrete lintels rather than steel for above doors/windows?

[djcdan]

On 16/06/2021 at 12:39, Moonshine said:

Try condell?

 

On 16/06/2021 at 12:41, James Newport said:

I was able to get a steel lintel from https://condell-ltd.com/

 

On 16/06/2021 at 13:00, PeterW said:

+1 to using Condell

Condell was a great shout. Quick and simple to order even during steel shortages and half the price what our local building merchant had quoted initially.

 

I now have 12 of the 13 lintels I need. The last is for a window 900mm wide but has a 40 deg slope at the top of the window rather than being flat. Having spoken to a few suppliers, as well as Catnic and Keystone themselves, I would need a 'special' half-apex lintel produced specifically for the job. Problem is, they don't seem to have manufacturing capabilities at the moment for specials.

 

This window is right near the top of one of the gables, so has relatively little weight on top. Would a concrete lintel be sufficient rather than waiting for the steel to become available? I presume there  would be no issue installing a concrete lintel on a 40 deg slope?

[djcdan]

Can anyone offer any advise on this? Still in the same boat and struggling to have this special lintel manufactured by Keystone or Catnic.

 

This is the window in question. The weight above the lintel is relatively small, but my main question is whether a concrete lintel can be laid on such an angle. Has anyone successfully done this?

[Olf]

I'm in week 12 of my saga with Catnic, so would suggest to look elswhere.

I can see no reason why concrete lintel would be worse than steel in this case, frankly concrete you can cut to form a flat base, it is harder for me to imagine shape of rolled steel lintel in that place. Either way, job for SE to make it work.

Unless you have the window ordered and you are sold on the feature, have you considered going normal rectangular window route?

 

[djcdan]

The window is already in @Olf ?. It looks great, but the brickie is quickly approaching and I have no lintel for him to fit!!

 

I also cannot see why a concrete lintel wouldn't suffice. Has anyone here fitted a concrete lintel on an angle?

[PeterW]

You can use a concrete but make it at least a 140mm deep as you will need a minimum of 100mm bearing end and then an “upright” section to stop it sliding. Top will be more of an issue and may need brickwork building up  first where the hashed area is and allowing to set. 

 

… and that picture is sideways ..!!! Rotate 90 degrees anti-clockwise to see what I mean ..!

 

[Mr Punter]

Not sure how the feature stone is supported?  Do you need a single leaf l-shaped lintel in addition?  Could use some galv or stainless angle for the outer leaf?

[djcdan]

1 hour ago, PeterW said:

… and that picture is sideways ..!!! Rotate 90 degrees anti-clockwise to see what I mean ..!

Yes, I see what you mean. Thanks for taking the time to draw that out. ?

 

1 hour ago, PeterW said:

You can use a concrete but make it at least a 140mm deep as you will need a minimum of 100mm bearing end and then an “upright” section to stop it sliding.

To confirm, the face of the lintel would be 140mm high thus allowing for larger cut ends to sit on the block as shown in the amended drawing?

 

1 hour ago, PeterW said:

Top will be more of an issue and may need brickwork building up  first where the hashed area is and allowing to set.

... and lay the block first of all before cutting and fitting the lintel?

 

48 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

Not sure how the feature stone is supported? 

The feature stone is 26mm stone cladding pieces that will be applied direct to the blockwork/concrete lintel using mortar adhesive (is what the supplier calls it).