Lintel

A lintel is the short horizontal member set directly above a door or window opening in a wall. Its job is simple and essential: it picks up the weight of the masonry above the opening and passes it to the wall on either side. Without it, the brickwork over the opening sags, cracks or falls in.

Types of lintel and how they are used

In traditional load-bearing masonry, lintels are stone or timber; over wider openings they give way to arches. In concrete-framed buildings, openings in infill walls get cast-in-place or precast reinforced concrete lintels, while walls built from aircrete or similar blocks use the system’s own reinforced lintel units. Steel angles and sections are common too, especially in alterations. A lintel needs adequate bearing at both ends, and that length depends on the span and the load. Where an opening sits directly under a beam, a separate lintel may not be needed at all, since the beam already does the work. On the outside, insulation should run continuously over the lintel so it does not become a thermal bridge.

Lintels on the facade and in renders

A lintel often disappears under render, but on brick or stone facades it is plainly visible and shapes the character of each window. When modelling a facade for visualization, treating that band above the opening as a separate material or a slight recess gives a far more convincing result than a flat, uninterrupted wall.