# Forum Home Renovation Brickwork  fill door void in solid internal brick wall

## prof_montoya

Hi all, 
I'm about to embark on house renovation (Coburg, Melb, early 1900's Queen Anne Bungalow).  To start I'd like to block off a few internal doors and large arch way.  The internal walls are solid brick.  I'm wondering if I should fill the void with plaster sheet or bricks (or something else?).  My pref would be to use similar materials to the existing house so I'm leaning towards bricks (and then rendering/ solid plaster).  However, I expect this will be tricky particularly since the bricks will need to rest on solid foundation/ footings.  Havent looked so not sure if there are footings under the existing timber floor.  What is the likelihood?  I'd appreciate your thoughts 
Monty.

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## PeteV

your best bet is to have a look and see whether there are any footings there. i'm tipping if it is a doorway you're refering to, then there will be. if this be the case, it is a relatively simple job to brick it up, albeit messy. hope this helps!

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## prof_montoya

Thanks PeteV. Yes there are two doorways.  Will check for footings.  There is also a large archway, any tips?  Do I need to square off the archway?

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## Craigoss

I have bricked up several door and windows in my house. All my internal walls are brick, as it sounds like yours are as well, with strip footings.  I cut a concrete lintel into the bottom of the doorway, then got the brickies to brick the wall up. A solid plasterer then rendered and white set the wall, you can't tell a door was even there now.

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## PeteV

arch shouldn't pose any problems for a brickie, he'll just cut some splits and shapes to fit it when gets to it. probably best to make sure they use dowel pins either side to prevent movement every 5 courses or so. hope this helps!

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## prof_montoya

Thanks Craigoss, 
What do you mean by "cut a concrete lintel into the bottom".  Would a brickie know this?  I need to do more research this as I'm thinking:
-  Do I need to remove the floor boards and go down to the footings or does the lintel go above the current floor?
-  At what height is the lintel?  I'm guessing you cut it into the bricks either side of the doorway.  How far in? 
PeteV - thanks for the additional tips!

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## Craigoss

I have some pics for you, i'm sure there are many other ways to do it, but this is how I done it. 
1) Prepare doorway, take several half bricks out so the brickies can "key" into the wall for more strength 
2) Attach concrete lintel and brick wall up. 
3) Render / White Set

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## prof_montoya

Thanks Craigoss.  That is AWESOME!!  I'm definitely going to mention this to the brickie and prep the area for him. 
I might even try doing the same for the arch, however the span is approx 3 mt. Wondering if this is too wide for a concrete lintel.  If it is, then I'll prob go back to plan A and remove a few floor boards and start from the foundations.   
PS I just measure the thickness of the arch wall and it is 140mm?  Brick is only 110mm.  Could it be there is 30mm of render/ whiteset?  Guess I'll find out when I start the job

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## Tools

You will probably find that there is already brickwork through the doorway to support the plate that the joists sit on. 
Tools

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## an3_bolt

Craigoss, 
That is awesomely neat brickwork - almost a shame to render over it!!

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## Craigoss

> Craigoss, 
> That is awesomely neat brickwork - almost a shame to render over it!!

  I can only assume you're referring to the brickwork being on the "piss", gotta love the construction standards of 100yr old houses  :Smilie:

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## an3_bolt

Seriously thought it looked pretty neat and well done in the photo. 
cheers

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