Cutting out an archway

Kevwoody

Sorry if this has been covered before but I'm looking for some advice on cutting an archway out of a masonry wall.

I would say I'm pretty confident of doing the work myself, despite some grumbling from the missus!
My plan of attack would be to source a concrete lintel of the correct size, cut out the outline of the arch, plus a hole each side to lay the lintel on. Then comes the bit I'm not sure about. Is it safe to remove the concrete blocks at the top and install the lintel in one go? Then remove everything else? Or do I have to support the above blocks somehow before removing anything?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

One shot on kill

The fist think I would be finding out if if is a load bearing wall.

Normally you would put 1 or 2 hole through the wall over your arch. Stick a plank through and support the weight with akrows. Cut out the head and concrete it in wedging it up to the blocks it has to support. When its dry them remove the arch.

But make sure your head is wider than the bass off the arch.

That's what I'd do anyway.