Required brickwork for the situation (longish post)

[richard7761]

This is the situation (well nearly, just accept it).

The downstairs ceiling beams of my house are interleaved (side by side), and rest on a half brick wall running parallel with roof ridge.

In that load-bearing wall, in the kitchen room, is an opening for a fireplace.

Behind the wall is the living room (so that room shares the load-bearing wall).

The other internal wall in the living room is perpendicular to the load-bearing and wall and lined up a brick length to the left of the right hand side of the fireplace lintel in the kitchen. Only the load-bearing wall is holding up the ceiling beams.

Okay. I'm cutting a doorway whose left hand side will align wih the perpendicular wall in the living room. Because that wall is a brick-length to the left of the righ side end of the fireplace lintel, I'll need to put in a shorter lintel over the fireplace, otherwise it will be in the way of the doorway.

Okay, so with a smaller lintel, the right hand end, front face of the lintel, will be at a corner point.

To the left of the corner point will be the fireplace, perpendicular to that the living room internal wall. With a doorway opening to the right of the corner.

Okay, imagine that there is an I beam running in line with the load-bearing wall, spanning 2.45m, holding up the ceiling beams with the left end set into the brickwork where the corner is.

If my description is good, you will see that the right hand side of the new shorter lintel will need new brickwork to support.

Now, the question is, how should that corner be dealt with?

I get the feeling that what needs to be at the corner is a column, say a brick length square right up to the I beam. And that it is NOT good enough to just have two half-brick walls, interleave at the corner point.

What say? Thanks.

 

[^woody^]

Bullet points or a sketch would be better

 

[richard7761]

Here is a drawing.

If I were to knock down a section of the load bearing wall, that is holding up the downstairs cealing beams (bedrooms above) I'd be leaving a span of 245Cm. If then I put in an "I" beam, I'd have a situation of the left end of the "I" beam siiting on a corner point. This is shown on the top drawing at left (top view).

But near that corner point is a fireplace with lintel, shown on bottom drawing (front view).

In my drawing the right end of that fireplace lintel is held up by new brickwork orientated such that length way is facing. (See where it says "1 BRICK LENGTH". ( NB: Well, it says that on the original paper drawing I have, but you just see an arrow near the fireplace, at bottom).

If the "I" beam only bore down on the old half-brick wall "C", then there is reliance one one brick-deep brickwork at that corner point.

If a second set is put in, behind the first (towards wall "B") then the "I" beam could sit on two deep brick-work.

I could in fact put in four deep brickwork because there is space. In that situation *new brickwork* is 4 deep up to the lintel, and 3 deep above, because of wall "C".

The question is, would you do at least two deep brickwork, with the view that it load-bearing?

Load Bearing Wall and I Beam

• richard7761
• 9 Jul 2012
• 1

 

[jeds]

Depends on the loads - which we don't know. The beam length isn't great so I wouldn't have thought the reactions would get up to much more than 10-12kN. That being the case and providing masonry strength is 4kN...ish with group iv mortar direct bearing would be plenty.

You need to also watch out for the slenderness of the bearings though. e.g. assuming the opening is 2.3m high point C has a slenderness of 23 which is getting up there.

 

[richard7761]

In the picture, I've drawn what I think I'd do.

There is load from the "I" beam pressing down on a corner point. That corner point is near a fireplace.

Figure 1 shows the original load-bearing wall C. That is of course above the fireplace lintel. I'd put in wall F, which ties walll C to wall D. That creates the corner point, between F and C. So, above the lintel we have strength owing to wall C connecting to wall D. F dovetailed in walls at both ends.

Figure 2 shows side on. You see that below the lintel we don't have wall C near the corner. We simply have some bricks holding up the right end of the lintel.

Figure 3 shows the brickwork I'd put in under the lintel. We have wall F, but for several courses (10 in fact) F is short of the face, by half a brick.

You see the arrangment of bricks in Figure 3. One stack of bricks is placed in front of the end of wall F up to the lintel. Another stack of bricks is placed to the left hand side of wall F, also up to the lintel. With use of wall ties.

Figure 4 shows the brickwork above the lintel. We see wall F connecting C and D. In order to maintain the support column for the I beam, I'd put in a stack of bricks, placed on the left hand side of wall F, right up the I beam. Use made of wall ties.

So, these pictures show the column, the brickwork that would be supporting the left hand end of the I beam, if I build according to the pictures.

As to the right end of the I beam. That is currently a half brick wall. Wall C in fact. But, I'd add another half brick wall, to make a full brick wall column.

Would the brickwork be sufficient at the corner point near the fire lintel?

Untitled

• richard7761
• 13 Jul 2012
• 1