Load-bearing brick walls are tricky to insulate. Here’s why: if you insulate the wall on the interior, you’ll make the bricks colder during the winter. As we know from the psychrometric chart, cold bricks are always wetter than warm bricks. Once the wall is insulated, the escaping heat that formerly passed through the bricks is no longer available to drive out the moisture. So your wet bricks stay wet for a long time. In some cases, repeated cycles of freezing and thawing can permanently damage the bricks, causing them to fall apart. #Brick #wall #insulation #renovate #pub

Steel Lintels Installation Guide Steel Lintels should be installed with a minimum end bearing of 150mm, bedded on mortar and levelled along its length and across its width. The masonry above the lintel should be built in accordance with BS EN 1996-2:2006. Raise the inner and outer leaves simultaneously to avoid excessive eccentricity of loading, with a maximum height difference of 225mm (Masonry should be laid on a mortar bed and all perpendicular joints should be filled.) Allow the mortar to cure before applying floor or roof loads (Temporary propping beneath a steel lintel is practised to facilitate speed of construction). The NHBC recommend a damp proof course (DPC) or cavity tray should be installed over all openings in external cavity walls. When installing concrete floor units or other heavy components above a lintel, care should be taken to avoid shock loading and floor units should not be dragged into position. Masonry immediately above the lintel should be allowed to cure. Point loads should not be applied directly onto lintel flanges. Steel Lintels should have a minimum of masonry 150mm high between the flange and the application level of any form of loading. Consult IG’s technical department if applying a point load above lintels. The external lintel flange must project beyond the window/door frame and it is recommended that a flexible sealing compound is used between the underside of the lintel flange and the frame. When the underside of a lintel is exposed, its appearance can be enhanced by the addition of lintel soffit cladding. Do not cut lintels to length or modify them in any way without consulting an IG engineer. #wall #repair #lintel #window #masonry #pub