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A structural engineer spec'ed a 140mm concrete lintel for my new garage. The span is 900mm and there will be 300mm of blocks above plus a flat roof. It does seem a bit excessive IMO, but the SE probably/hopefully knows what he's doing

I have a 200x100mm (h x w) RHS steel and need to lay bricks on it. The radius is bigger than I expected (about 1"), so this would make the bed joint look like 35mm. It will be inside a garage, so I'm not worried by the appearance too much. Would this be acceptable? It has a shelf plate on...

I think I won't bother with DPC on top then. I think it's good to have it under the steel though as it should help take out any unevenness in the concrete.

It's in the middle of a garage, not an external wall. It's also not a lintel, it's a steel universal column. The question is whether I need a slip membrane on top (a single piece of DPC).

Ah, so should I put another but of DPC on top the steel when I put the bricks on it?

Yeah, I know what a cavity tray is as I've done them for my Windows etc., but just can't understand what it has to do with thermal movement Steels are done now, just a couple of pieces of DPC below the steel.

It is a cavity wall, but I still can't see why I would need a tray as the steel won't stick into the cavity. It's only supporting a roof, so there will only be a 500-600mm blocks above it.

I'm putting a large steel (6m span) in my garage extension to support the roof. I found this (https://www.nhbc.co.uk/binaries/content/assets/nhbc/tech-zone/nhbc-standards/tech-guidance/6.1/lintels-over-wide-garage-openings-.pdf) online and I'm trying to understand it. From what I understand, I...

I really want to do what is in the SE design, partly because I've already built everything up to the steel height. I don't want to knock it all down and start again. It's flush with the existing house, so cladding would make it stick out

I don't want a padstone as it'll look awful on the outside

I need to install a steal beam for a large garage opening (approx. 5.2m span). The brickwork is single skin (215mm wide) and the beam will have a shelfplate. In the general notes from the SE docs it says that the beams should be "bedded onto a dry/level mortar bed". I've never seen a beam on a...

These guys seem to think that you can't just rest joists on light blocks. I did once find this advice on a website but I can't find it now Joists on light blocks :cautious:

I've been intending to put flat roof joists (metal web joists) on my aerated blocks (5.2N IIRC). Some blocks say you should sit them on 4mm neoprene or roofing felt, but the manufacturer of my blocks doesn't seem to know how I should put the joists on the blocks. Is the 4mm felt etc. a standard...

I'm going to do a symmetrical padstone. About 400mm wide (200mm on each side). I'll put the wall ties in the blocks each side, which will be about 225mm from the corner.

I know concrete can be any height. I would be a bit worried about putting a hole in the shuttering for the wall tie. I don't want the cavity filling up with concrete . Also, although the extra concrete wouldn't be much, it would add to the weight that the shuttering would need to support. IIRC...

That's a really good collection of replies from all of you. Thank you @noseall that's a very interesting idea but my wall is almost up to steel height and I don't want to rebuild it . The difficulties I can see with it is that the shuttering would probably need to hold over 1T on concrete. I...

I need to put a 6m steel (203 UC) on a corner that is at a strange angle (approx. 20 degree angle IIRC). As I'm using 7N blocks, the structural engineer said I won't need a padstone. However, as the steel will sit right in the middle of the corner, I'm keen to cast a padstone in situ to avoid...

I'm building an extension and I'm wondering whether the insulation will work properly for my internal wall. I have a heated room and a garage, but I want the option to convert the garage in the future, so I want it insulated. I'm using rigid "full fill" insulation, which is 90mm with a 10mm...

I'm building an extension (cavity walls) and the ground level varies. The doors and FFL will be at 150mm but the ground will be approximately 200mm higher on one wall. One suggestion I've had is to do a cavity tray instead of DPC as a tray doesn't need to be at 150+mm above the ground level...

I need to do the concrete oversite for my new garage. People usually use a length of timber to level the concrete, but I would need timber that's at least 6.5m long (without any bowing). My brickwork is up to the FFL (ground level), but would should I use? Should I screw some wood together to...