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Discover Our Wide Range of Lintels & Padstones

Discover Our Wide Range of Lintels & Padstones

Discover our range of high-quality lintels and padstones, designed to support any wall opening, from windows and doors to passageways.

We offer both concrete and steel lintels, including pre-stressed options in various sizes to suit doorways, windows, and even fireplaces. For cavity walls, our steel and internal wall box lintels provide reliable reinforcement.

Complete your installation with our durable padstones, available in multiple sizes and weights, to ensure optimal load distribution and secure fitting.

Check out our range and find the perfect lintel and padstone solution for any project.

What Are Lintels and Where Are They Used?

What Are Lintels and Where Are They Used?

A lintel is a structural beam placed above windows, doors, or openings to support the weight of the building above. By transferring loads to surrounding walls, lintels help prevent structural strain and maintain stability.

  • Function: Supports the load above openings, distributing weight to protect frames and the overall structure.
  • Types: Commonly made from concrete or steel, with concrete providing fire resistance and thermal insulation, and steel offering high strength.
  • Installation: Lintels must meet building regulations for safe and effective load-bearing.
  • Reinforcement: Often embedded with steel bars to handle heavy compressive forces and provide some flexibility.

Lintels are essential in any building with openings, ensuring strength and durability across load-bearing walls.

The Different Types of Lintels

The Different Types of Lintels

Lintels come in various materials, each suited to specific structural needs and conditions. Here’s an overview of common types of lintels and their unique benefits and drawbacks.

  • Concrete Lintels: Widely used due to their strength and versatility for large spans. Durable and economical, but prone to cracking and rust in reinforcing steel if not maintained.
  • Timber Lintels: Often found in older structures or barn conversions where timber is accessible. Prone to damp, rot, and woodworm, requiring regular maintenance for structural integrity.
  • Stone Lintels: Common where stone is abundant. While durable, they are costly, heavy, and susceptible to bending stress, making them harder to transport and install.
  • Steel Lintels: Ideal for supporting heavy loads and wide openings. Resistant to rust and erosion, and easy to install, providing long-term reliability.
  • Brick Lintels: Used in light load applications with spans under 1m. When reinforced, they handle heavier loads, but are generally suitable for smaller projects.
Steel or Concrete Lintel? Which to Choose?

Steel or Concrete Lintel? Which to Choose?

Choosing between steel and concrete lintels depends on factors like strength, cost, fire resistance, and thermal insulation.

  • Strength-to-Weight Ratio: Steel has a superior strength-to-weight ratio, making it easier to handle and highly effective for load-bearing. Concrete, while strong in compression, relies on steel reinforcement for tensile strength.
  • Fire Resistance: Concrete is naturally fire-resistant, slowing fire spread, while steel can lose strength under high heat and may require extra fireproofing in vulnerable areas.
  • Thermal Bridging: Concrete offers better insulation, reducing cold bridging in walls, whereas steel generally requires added insulation to achieve the same effect.
  • Corrosion Resistance: Concrete is resistant to moisture-related corrosion, whereas steel (especially in damp or salty conditions) may need protection against rust. Stainless steel options can address this.
  • Cost: Concrete is typically more affordable than steel, making it a budget-friendly choice for many applications.
What Are Padstones and How Do They Differ from Lintels?

What Are Padstones and How Do They Differ from Lintels?

While lintels support masonry above openings like windows and doors, padstones distribute heavy point loads across a larger area of wall, preventing structural strain.

  • Purpose:

Lintels: Provide direct support for masonry above doorways and windows, bearing loads over gaps.

Padstones: Positioned beneath beams and lintels to evenly spread concentrated loads over a larger wall area, protecting masonry from excessive stress.

  • Material & Construction:

Lintels: Typically reinforced concrete, balancing compression and tensile strength for stability over gaps.

Padstones: High-density concrete blocks made for strength and durability, often pre-cast for easy installation.

  • Sizes: Standard padstones range from 100mm to 215mm to suit different wall widths and load requirements, accommodating even complex support needs like corner bearings.

Padstones provide a solid base for beams and heavy-duty lintels, enhancing the structural integrity of walls and reducing localized pressure points.

One of the biggest advantages of using concrete lintels in the construction of your building is that they can adapt to any size and shape to fit above your windows and doors.
Concrete lintels are a cost effective and high performing option for the support of masonry above windows and doors, whereas padstones are often used to help spread heavy point loads across block or brick walls by providing an improved compressive strength.
Choosing the right lintel is important because it can improve the energy efficiency of the whole building. For instance, traditional single piece lintels don’t have a thermal break and that allows the transfer of heat to the outside.
Unlike concrete lintels, steel lintels are much less affected by rust and erosion meaning after installation, they can prove to be reliable for many years. Steel lintels are less labour intensive than installing more lintels within your building and is much more practical to manoeuvre.
Brick lintels are mainly used in properties where there is a light loading above and the opening gap is less than 1m. When the brick lintels that are frog filled with mortar provides shear resistance to the end joints than the standard blocks that are normally used.
Window lintels are beams that run along the top of windows in order to support and properly distribute the structure’s overall weight.
Steel lintels are extremely durable, thanks to steel’s natural resistance to rust and damage, and much easier to install than most other lintels.
Padstones are mass concrete blocks that are used to distribute point loads from steel beams and concrete lintels evenly over larger areas where they are built into a structure to prevent overstressing of the masonry below.

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Our Brands of Lintels & Padstones

Supreme Concrete

Supreme Concrete offers a comprehensive range of high-performance, pre-cast concrete solutions tailored for modern construction needs. Specializing in an array of building components, fencing products, and structural supports, their product line includes fire-rated lintels, high-strength lintels, padstones, precast lintels, and premium prestressed lintels. Each product is engineered for exceptional durability, precision, and safety, ensuring reliable performance on-site. Designed to meet rigorous industry standards, their lintels and padstones provide dependable structural support, making them a trusted choice for professionals across the building and construction sectors.

Catnic

Catnic, a UK manufacturer in the steel construction industry, specializes in a wide-ranging selection of products tailored for residential building projects. With over 10,000 variations of lintels, Catnic offers solutions for virtually any structural requirement, from standard to heavy and extra-heavy duty applications. Their innovative Thermally Broken Lintels are particularly notable, providing enhanced thermal efficiency across different load-bearing capacities. Alongside their extensive lintel range, Catnic supplies hundreds of plaster beads, mesh, and metalwork profiles, ensuring reliable, high-quality options for builders focused on durability, efficiency, and performance.

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