What options for load bearing beam end bearing support?

[RomanAbramovich]

SE has commented on plans to give load bearing beam '100mm bearing on engineering brick'.

On a previous extension job I built up three courses of engineering bricks in a section 450mm wide, into the inner leaf block work to support a beam end. BCO didn't comment, so assume that was good practice!

A neighbour mentioned to me recently that it's far easier to use a 140x100 prestressed concrete lintel in place of the blues.

Given that one method provides 150mm overall height, the other 225mm height, is there an issue using a lintel for this purpose?

(I looked at 215x4440x100 padstones in my local builders merchant but they have a bevel edge, which I didn't like the look of).

 

[^woody^]

All walls and bearing loads are different. What works for one may not for another - and that can apply to each end of the same beam, let alone a different beam in a different house.

The SE should tell you what is needed.

 

[RomanAbramovich]

Ok, thanks for shedding some light.

SE's calcs doc states: 'By inspection provide engineering brick padstones under both ends of beam.'

This spec applies to a 203x102x23kg UB steel, span 3600mm.

One end of the beam is to sit on the inner leaf of an extension (thermalites). Other end sits on existing wall (commons).

I did a similar job (loading about the same) with three courses of blues, same spec steel but 4200mm span, a couple of years ago. Really want to understand if a 140mm x 100mm prestressed concrete lintel is commonly used as a substitute for the 3 courses of blues.

 

[^woody^]

OMG, that's a crap SE spec. What type of engineering brick and laid to what size?

From experience, one 440mm lintel might do on sound, well bonded common bricks, but perhaps two deep on thermalite blocks.

For reference, what is going on at the bearings is that the beam is trying to crush and shear the wall directly under the bearing, and that the load needs to be spread out to the wall below. So the padstone needs to perform these two functions.

For domestic loading, a concrete lintel may be suitable to counter shear and crushing at the bearing, but it will be the load spreading function which will differ.