Garage Door Lintel

[Hail]

Hello Everyone,

Is a concrete lintel sufficient for a garage door that is 2070mm wide? It will have two courses of dense blocks on top of it. If yes, then what dimensions should I be looking at as a minimum? This is a single skin garage BTW.
I would go for a steel lintel but I am a bit over budget.

 

[John D v2.0]

Yes, and if you know the weight of the blocks you can read it off the manufacturer's data sheet. The lintel could get heavy if you're installing a stronger one.

 

[siwriderby]

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spammer to be removed
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[Hail]

Yes, and if you know the weight of the blocks you can read it off the manufacturer's data sheet. The lintel could get heavy if you're installing a stronger one.

I was going to pick on up from my local builder's merchant - a 2.4m 9x4 concrete lintel, but when I asked for the data sheet/loads they didn't know. Not entirely sure what to do. The lintel will only have half a course of 7.3N block work on top of it, and some 8x3s, hence why I think a standard concrete lintel should suffice. It's not like it's a multi story or that I'm going to have a pitched roof or anything.
Thoughts?

 

[noseall]

The lintel will only have half a course of 7.3N block work on top of it, and some 8x3s

Concrete lintels are designed to work in composite with masonry above. Less masonry above usually presents a worse scenario. They are certainly not designed with direct point loading in mind.

What did you mean by 'some' 8x3's?

 

[Hail]

Concrete lintels are designed to work in composite with masonry above. Less masonry above usually presents a worse scenario. They are certainly not designed with direct point loading in mind.

What did you mean by 'some' 8x3's?

That's interesting. So what do you recommend?

8x3s for the flat roofing. It's essentially the lintel, 1 course of 100mm block work, then the joists. The joists won't be resting on the garage door btw, it'll be a single joist from one end to the other on the garage door wall, so there isn't too much weight on top of it. But you are saying it needs more weight for it to operate properly, which makes no sense in all honesty.

 

[noseall]

which makes no sense in all honesty.

You need to think about how large expanses of masonry work or Google self-arching to understand how more masonry can be of benefit to an opening.

P.S. I did not say more weight but more masonry. You could stack a load of blocks vertically above the lintel and it will snap. Or you could build more courses spanning the lintel, then any point load above it will be dissipated towards the bearings.

 

[John D v2.0]

I was confused too, but I suppose if you phrase it in terms of "how much masonry falls if you take it out" them I'm less confused!
SEs work in terms of total load when rating it though, whether it would be arched over or not

 

[siwriderby]

The moderator removed my post whilst trying to offer a help. Not sure the
moderator read the post properly.

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Do the 8x3s rest on top of the blocks above the door or are they at the same height?
How long are they? The blocks and joists will create a force which the lintel will need to support so knowing the lengths etc help calc the load.
Thanks

Simon

 

[John D v2.0]

They probably removed it because you are not prepared to help on the forum which is no use to anyone else who searches this thread later. And no point mentioning the company you own, just give the guy his answers for free (like everyone else on here)!



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Sounds about right
You can put contact details in your profile, but if you look like you're a company, advertising, you're history. It's an indistinct line, but you can't "offer a service".
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[Hail]

You need to think about how large expanses of masonry work or Google self-arching to understand how more masonry can be of benefit to an opening.

P.S. I did not say more weight but more masonry. You could stack a load of blocks vertically above the lintel and it will snap. Or you could build more courses spanning the lintel, then any point load above it will be dissipated towards the bearings.

Oh right, you're talking about stress points. If I put a block under the joist, then the weight will be evenly distributed across the block, no? and therefore the weight distribution across the lintel will span a larger area. It'll only be problematic if I put the joist directly on top of the lintel.

Do the 8x3s rest on top of the blocks above the door or are they at the same height?
How long are they? The blocks and joists will create a force which the lintel will need to support so knowing the lengths etc help calc the load.
Thanks
Simon

For the garage door, a single joist will rest on the entire run of the wall - it'll have 6 half blocks (10kg each). The joist weighs around 45kg and is 6 metre in length.

 

[John D v2.0]

The repeating point loads from roof joists won't be a problem, the lintel will be made out of extremely strong concrete >20n/mm² so unless you're adding a specific point load eg a pillar supporting the corner of a bay window and roof upstairs, you'll be OK.