We are having HVAC ductwork installed in our crawlspace and one of the companies mentioned they do not remove foundation concrete blocks due to liability. Unfortunately, for us to have registers in our living room at least one concrete block needs to be removed from an interior wall. I have looked online and it appears to be a straight forward job in removing the block.
My questions: Do I need to worry about the structure of my home when removing one or more concrete blocks from an interior wall? If so, how many blocks need to be removed before I need to install a lintel or some other support? Does where the block is removed on the wall matter? Thank you and any advice is appreciated!
Best Answer
Yep, you need to worry about the structure. You may be fine with a pressure treated box-frame inside the void, if the section isn't directly load-bearing.
But typically, a proper steel angle lintel is required and that must run at least over half of the neighbor block width. A call to a Mason might surprise you with how cheap it'll be for them to knock it out.