I have a very driven, enthusiastic husband! Help!

[DieselDobermann]

Well hello everyone. I've joined because I'm confused! We bought our house last year, it's a 1930s ex council house in Bristol. My husband is doing a lot of the minor renovations himself as he's great at building stuff, but basically has no clue when it comes to what kind of permission he needs or what needs signing off, or insurance approval, and has left it all down to me to find out about.... Very new to this, so please be kind!!  I'm going to call the council on Monday, but thought I'd post here for some advice in the meantime. 

 

So our house has a conservatory at the back. A sliding double door into it from the living room, and a window from the kitchen that looks into the conservatory. During the replacing of all the kitchen units and redoing the kitchen wall tiles, my husband took it upon himself to knock this window out as well. Let's just say he got a bit carried away and has had this vision in his head of having a hatch through into the conservatory and a breakfast bar on the other side where our 3 young kids and dog can be while we keep an eye on them from the kitchen and pass them their food. He has exposed all the brickwork, and the window lintel. It's wood and should really be replaced with a concrete one, as these 1930s houses in this area all have issues with cracking around the windows due to these older wooden lintels. 

 

So my first question is this - if he wants to replace the wooden lintel with a concrete one, what do we need to do? Is he allowed to do this himself? Do we need someone from building regulations to come out and check it prior to him doing this? Do they need to come out again after and sign off on it saying it complies with building regs? What do we need to do regarding our insurance?  Bear in mind this is now considered an internal window / opening rather than external one, due to it opening into the conservatory.

 

Then second question is - what's the process of getting a window installed yourself, or is it easier just to get a builder in? Would whatever permissions/sign-offs required for the lintel cover the replacement of the window as well? 

 

Really would appreciate any sort of advice, I'm clueless and if I'm honest, totally panicked now Thanks in advance! 

[gaz_moose]

acro props and some strong boys to take the weight whilst swapping the lintel.

swapping a window for a window wont need any inspection, it should really have a fensa certificate for the new window but most don't seem to care so i wouldn't be too stressed about that part.

[saveasteading]

What is the wall construction? Solid brick or cavity?

 

Either way, I'd be tempted to fit one 100mm concrete lintel, and then another so the wall is always supported.

 

Should it be supervised by a bco? Yes.

Does it need an experienced builder? Can't comment....he might be instinctively very good at this...maybe not.

Props should be used. They can be hired short term. 

[Sparrowhawk]

57 minutes ago, DieselDobermann said:

It's wood and should really be replaced with a concrete one, as these 1930s houses in this area all have issues with cracking around the windows due to these older wooden lintels.

Structurally problematic cracking, or cosmetic cracking?

 

I've got a structural engineer coming this Thursday to inspect 3 timber lintels in our 1920s house so I'll know more after that, but they don't always need replacing.

 

As to the window, fit it himself. If he spends 30 minutes reading this forum he'll know more about good window fitting than your average window fitter.

 

14 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Either way, I'd be tempted to fit one 100mm concrete lintel, and then another so the wall is always supported.

 

Do you mean 1 in the inner leaf and one in the outer leaf?

[saveasteading]

2 minutes ago, Sparrowhawk said:

you mean 1 in the inner leaf and one in the outer leaf?

Yes. 

[Jilly]

So basically:

1 you might need a structural engineer (SE) to visit the site to advise and do calculations to specify the lintel required.

2 Tell your house insurer what you plan to do and make sure your policy covers you. 

3 You need to contact Building Control to tell them what you are doing and pay the fee, on a ‘Building Notice’ and they will then ask for the SE calculations and it will set off a chain of inspections.

4 Decide if hubby is up to the task

5 Change the lintel as discussed above, supporting the house with acro props so it doesn’t collapse 

6 Insert chosen window making sure it has the correct kite mark to show the Building Control Officer. 
7 Anything else around that bit of the house you decide to do can be covered on the same Building Notice (I think) but you must check it complies before you do it, to prevent mistakes 

 

(NB A so called ‘Full Plans’ submission to Building Control is drawings and calculations submitted by an architect and checked in their entirety for the whole extension/building by BC in advance, and this can give you a building ‘recipe’ to follow. You are too late for this option I think.) 

 

 

Edited July 14 by Jilly

[saveasteading]

10 minutes ago, Jilly said:

So basically

So basically, we cannot encourage people to knock holes in buildings and hope everything works out.

 

[LSB]

is the conservatory a single skin plastic type thing which gets very hot in summer and very cold in winter.

 

If so and this is open to the house then you will have insulation issues because of this.

 

If it has a solid roof, cavity and good windows then you may be fine.

 

Did you have an EPC when you bought the house as this may be affected.

 

[DieselDobermann]

11 hours ago, LSB said:

is the conservatory a single skin plastic type thing which gets very hot in summer and very cold in winter.

 

If so and this is open to the house then you will have insulation issues because of this.

 

If it has a solid roof, cavity and good windows then you may be fine.

 

Did you have an EPC when you bought the house as this may be affected.

 

We plan to seal it with a window that opens up to give access to the conservatory, not leave a hole, so this shouldn't be an issue.

[DieselDobermann]

11 hours ago, saveasteading said:

So basically, we cannot encourage people to knock holes in buildings and hope everything works out.

 

Yeah, he didn't even run this past me (I'm the main owner of the house) and didn't even think what this might entail just with surveyors and paperwork and insurance... I was actually livid.... but hey ho gotta sort it out now so onwards we go...

 

[RandyPeters]

Due to the structural implications, it's highly likely that you'll need building regulations approval. This involves submitting plans and potentially having a building inspector visit your property. While your husband is handy, replacing a lintel is a structural job that requires precision. Hiring a qualified builder with experience in this area is strongly recommended.