Hello!
When our apartment from 1909 was renovated sometime in the 60s, they chose to move a door opening to be able to install a toilet.
We would like to open up the door opening by 5cm at the top. The wall is load-bearing and bricked, but we're not entirely sure what's hidden behind the plaster.
Does anyone have experience with something similar or have any idea if the opening is framed in any way?
When our apartment from 1909 was renovated sometime in the 60s, they chose to move a door opening to be able to install a toilet.
We would like to open up the door opening by 5cm at the top. The wall is load-bearing and bricked, but we're not entirely sure what's hidden behind the plaster.
Does anyone have experience with something similar or have any idea if the opening is framed in any way?
Openings in masonry walls are topped either by an arch, i.e., wedged stones, or a brick lintel (which can be several in parallel). Since the opening is not original, one can assume that a brick lintel is concealed there. Raising the opening by 5 cm is not possible without moving the lintel upward. This is a relatively extensive task that should be performed by an experienced mason. Unfortunately, such masons don't grow on trees. The question is why you want to raise the opening. If it is to fit a ready-made door, it is cheaper to custom order the door.
Thank you for the response, that's exactly what we wanted to know! That saves us that work.