DIY FYI: What is a Window or Door Lintel?

January 4, 2016

DIY FYI: What is a Window or Door Lintel?

Sometimes, when you are attempting to hang something above a door or window, you might come across what is known as the lintel.

What is it? According to Wikipedia:

A lintel is a structural horizontal block that spans the space or opening between two vertical supports.^[1] It can be a load-bearing building component, a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item.

Lintels are usually found above doors, portals, windows and/or fireplaces. They can be an element in the construction itself, or just there for decoration.

Throughout history,(as early as the ancient Mayan and Greek civilizations) lintels were a component of what is known as “post and lintel” construction. There are two posts, and then the lintel, which is the horizontal element that spans them.

Nowadays, though, it is just a good thing to know that they might be there, to avoid a surprise in the event that you want to drill into the wall above a window or door.