Lintels ARE important!!!

Now the outside bricks are being laid at the back, its beginning to look more like part of the house. You see the square window at the back of the original house, in the new garden room? we were going to keep that aperture and put an open-able glass hatch in. Unfortunately - yes, you've guessed it - there is NO lintel above it. What we all (including the builders) though was a lintel faced with upright bricks, turns out to be bricks, but no lintel.

The window blew yesterday, and I ran out to tell the builder. We notice a small crack appearing up the brickwork. This is the section of wall where my thermalstore is above. Scary!!! I am glad the builders were there. So we are going to brick up the aperture where the window was. There will still be plenty of light as the 5’ double doors through to the garden room are glass, all the remaining wall is glass round the garden room, and we are having a huge window on the side of the house, in the kitchen/diner, where the old side window and door are now.

And Richard has re-done the plumbing into the drain to the side of the kitchen so the drain pipe you can still see, under the window, has now gone.

I am learning so much about how a house is supposed to be constructed properly.