Choosing correct lintel for new self build garage

hey guys, Got my garage conversion completed so now on to building the new garage.

It is a single skinned brick garage, the garage door opening will be 2700mm, overall width 3800mm, with a 200 x 550 mm pier either end. I have looked on the various websites (Catnic, IG, Birtley) and have seen a couple of lintels, the question is for example,

Birtley EV100 max udl = 30kn. I am struggling to work out how much load the gable end above the lintel is going to be. I have tried searching loads online but to no avail.

Any help greatly appreciated, don't really want to pay for structural help if I can avoid it.

Cheers

Matt

If it is a structural load that the lintel is carrying, I assume building controls are overseeing the project.
So that being true, they will need evidence that the lintel/RSJ is suitable for the load it will carry, the best way of proving this is by having structural calculation made, the best people to do this are structural engineers.
You need a SE!

The garage is only 20 sq metres so dont need building control for it!
The lintel is described as being heavy duty, just wondered what sort of load a single skin common house brick gable end would be!

the actual weight of brick is about 24kn per cu metre so it's easy to guestimate how much that lintol could support (as a UDL).

The real answer depends upon whats above it and hence what loads as well as the dead load from the bricks are on it of course. However assuming that you are supporting just an equilateral triangle of brickwork 3m wide and calculating the weight of that is a reasonably accurate approach on a garage wall.

It gets more complicated when the lintol is being designed for a wall that is carrying roof and floor loads and normally you would factor the loads, but if you want to keep it simple for this case

area = height * width * 0.5
weight = area * thickness * mass

area = (1.5 * TAN(60)) * 3 * 0.5/2 = 3.9 sq m
weight = 3.9 * .1 * 24 = 9.36kn

Sounds about right but check my numbers! I doubt that your gable is that high but only you know.

A proper engineer would look at the stability of the gable wall and the piers too as they are probably more important than the lintol in the overall scheme of things. That's why you need a proper engineer on anything other than a very simple opening. Even in this case you need to be sure that the gable is tied to the roof to stop it raining bricks when the next good blow passes through.

Apparently the UK has more tornados than anywhere else - fortunately most are tiny.

Colin

So the garage is not forming any part of your house and is single structure then? and the gable mentioned is purely some course work above the garage door?
So how many courses, how many bricks?

Ok I will try to clarify a little,

The front of the garage is going to be 3800 wide. the garage door opening is going to be 2700. that leaves approx 550 either side which will be a double brick width pier. (550x200)

There will be a gable wall above the garage door opening, which will be approx 1500 high (approx 20 courses) and 3800 wide.

I want to install a roller garage door on the inside face of the garage, so I think I require a lintel that is 200 deep and able to have bricks on both leafs, the outside one for the gable wall and the inside one approx 4 courses of bricks to give me something to mount the roller garage door to.

So the weight will be, the gable end, a few roof tiles that will overhang the gable end, a roller garage door and say 4-6 courses of bricks on the inside face to mount the door to.

Your help as always in apreciated.

Hi,

No special lintel required here... just a normal opening in a run of the mill garage.

Just a lintel suitable for a 9'' wall, which should be a stock item at a decent builders merchant.

I'd build the back of the wall (full height) with block-to give more stability.

Make sure the lintle is propped with a length of timber during construction
and the job's a dream