UKC

We are moving a doorway inside the house, and my builder says that the building control will insist on it being greater than a minimum height. - This will will be a bit of a headache due to a huge concrete lintel above, which kind of holds the back of the house up.

What I've found on 'tinternet is that there are no rules for internal doors in domestic properties.
Builder still insists there is a minimum height.

May in the end insist on the lintel being lifted, but would like to know if I have to.

In reply to markAut:
how old is the property. how far are you moving it. If your replacing like with like i think builders taking a load of crap tell him i said so
Nothing to stop you asking the building control officer yourself. Local council

In reply to markAut:

1800mm I've been quoted recently.

Although the architect did say there was no set limit.

What height have you got?

Your standard door is 1981mm .to which I always add 60mm (ish) for frame ,floor finish and gaps. So around 2040 mm is ideal.

In older houses ,lintels tend to be ridiculously low.

In reply to markAut:

Have a chat with the local council.

In reply to andymac:

It's going to be around 1800 mm high when the floor is sorted. House was built in 1924, so not that old really. Doorway is into a downstairs shower wc room.

In reply to markAut:
Speak to your Building control.

Legal or otherwise ,I would say it's a bit on the low side.

Long term ,would you be comfortable having such a low doorway?

What's above the Lintol?

Brickwork? Single/ double skin?

In reply to andymac:

The world's biggest -poured in situ - concrete beam is a course of bricks above the door lintel. Think keeping everything stable during the works is what's causing the worry.

I'm a short arse, so the height is no physical worry and this is the youngest house I've lived in so I'm used to low doors anyway. Suppose if pushed I'd prefer it to be higher, but it adds a bit more character to the house and will annoy you unfeasibly tall people.

In reply to andymac:
Will be finishing the works in that part of the house in spring, when money and warmth reappear, so have plenty of time to think about it.

Thanks for the advice so far.

In reply to markAut:

Unless I was having to duck ,it wouldn't bother me either.

'Character' is good.

Good luck

In reply to markAut:

Hypothetically speaking, how are Building Control ever going to know?...

In reply to wintertree:


They're not.

But if Clint Eastwood was to phone them up tomorrow and ask about his doorway ,Clint Eastwood's mind could be put at rest

In reply to markAut:

If it's only a single door lintel with one line of bricks above it before a massive lintel then it should be a really easy job to take out the door lintel and go up to the main weight bearing lintel, then just make up the difference above the finished door height (which it doesn't sound lie you need much to do) in timber and plaster.

In reply to gethin_allen:

problem is the massive beam doesn't go all the way to the party wall. Funnily enough, the beam probably weighs as much as it's supporting. It's an odd house which has suffered from several generations of the bodge-it brothers. We keep discovering blocked up doorways and windows.

All of this does give it character, and I love the place, but just removing a single brick is sort of like a gigantic high stakes game of Jenga which I'm trying to put right as I do the place up. I feel physically and financially safer if I can disturb as little as possible.

In reply to wintertree:


New downstairs bathroom is notifiable, so builder is presumably doing it self certifying and won't breach what he feels are the rules.

I just skimmed Part M and can't find minimum height, certainly not in dwellings. Plenty of old houses that won't take 1980 mm door.

In reply to markAut:

Can you diamond cut it out to the standard height? Leaving everything else in place.

In reply to marsbar:


What i said

In reply to markAut:

3 acro props with strongboys above lintel. Raise lintel by 1 coarse and fit new doorframe at stardard 1981 door. Barely a mornings work.

In reply to olddirtydoggy:

He needs around 180mm.

In reply to DancingOnRock:

He must be short

In reply to markAut:
Its more to do with Part K of the building regs. Its subjective and has a lot to do with whether its on an escape route, whether its existing and being replaced like for like or if its new. If the work requires regs and you've not submitted an application then the builder is probably just covering his arse in case you get found out in the future and need to submit a retrospective application - finding out that the door height should be higher. It takes away all blame from himself stopping you from making an angry phone call to him.

Escape route head height has to be 2m in corridors and 1.9 if in a loft conversion. Whether or not this applies to the door on the route is subjective.

As previously mentioned - just ring as Mickey Mouse and ask.

In reply to thommi:


Ah yes. Should have written 'another 180mm'.

One course will only give 80mm tops.

In reply to markAut:

The only headroom limits I can think of in the building regs apply to staircases, nothing relating to doors or ceilings for that matter. I'm no expert though and it's a year or so since I looked.
jk

In reply to jkarran:

Escape route minimum heights may apply...speak to Bldg Control.

In reply to wintertree:


That's my view. (Hypothetically speaking of course). That doorway / window / room was there when I moved in...

In reply to GriffonVulture:

Sorry didn't see that.