I want to know the size and type of a lintel I need for an…

Question

I want to know the size and type of a lintel I need for an opening in a brick
wall. The span is 4m, it will have to support 6 courses of internal single leaf
brickwork and plaster, and the wall also suports a timber floor and frame second
storey with a clay tiled roof. Can u help me? Cheers

walkereng · Accepted Answer

walkereng :

I can help

walkereng :

Are you able to get U.S. steel members. I need to know what sizes I can provide.

Customer: Sorry I am in australia
walkereng :

What type of material is available? Universal Beams?

Customer: Yes I have to match it back into existing plaster finish so universal
beam or I was thinking LVL beam if possible
walkereng :

Do you happen to have any pictures you could attach?

Customer: No sorry I will try and describe. It is a load bearing wall between a
lounge room and a dining room. It has a double door opening in it at the moment
but we want to make the opening bigger, or as large as possible. The length of
the wall now is 4 meters so if we can remove the entire wall to create the
opening would be great leaving the top six courses of brick work in tack as
there is ornate cornice in both rooms which we don't want to disturb.
Customer: This wall also supports a second storey which is timber floor
construction, timber frame walls and a clay tiled roof. Maybe if you can work
out the approx weight of the load per meter I can work out the lintel by my
lintel tables available to me on the internet
walkereng :

Sorry for the delay, my computer just magically rebooted by itself! Let me read
you post.

Customer: They are good like that
walkereng :

Attachment: 2013-03-27_125453_elevation.pdf
[//ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/WA/walkereng/2013-03-27_125453_elevation.pdf]

[//ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/WA/walkereng/2013-03-27_125453_elevation.pdf]

Full Size Image
[//ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/WA/walkereng/2013-03-27_125453_elevation.pdf]

I have attached a file, can you take a look at it and answer the questions at
the bottom of the sheet? Your answers will allow me to accurately model the
loading and size your beam. Thanks

walkereng :

Sounds like it might be a "New Beam #2" from my diagram?

Customer: Yeah we don't have a basement so Yes new beam 2 . The measurement of
the joist 1 is 5 m and joist 2 is 3 .2 m. The roof is a clay tile roof .
Customer: And the 6 courses above the new beam are of brick and plaster
construction not timber
walkereng :

Is there roof load going to be supported by the 2nd floor wall above that will
have to be carried by this new beam?

Customer: Yes
walkereng :

Do you have a beam depth you want to stay within?

Customer: No not really
walkereng :

Won't there be a headroom issue with 6 courses of brick and then a beam below
that?

Customer: The existing ceiling height is 3.2m . I just wanted to leave enough
brick work so as not to disturb the ornate cornice so maybe could only leave 4
or 5 corses
walkereng :

So this brick will be about 0.5 m tall?

Customer: It is an old house with high ceilings. Yeah 0.5m
walkereng :

Any snow ever?

Customer: Never snows here
walkereng :

Any storage or occupancy in your attic area?

Customer: My daughter is working in New York right now and loving seeing snow
for the first time
Customer: No
walkereng :

I am in Ohio, so we are getting tired of seeing snow this year. We are ready for
spring to actually be here!

Customer: I bet is autum here now and going to be 30c here on weekend
walkereng :

You said you would like a 4 m beam, is that the span you want me to size?

Customer: The opening created would be 4 m so that plus over hang to sit on
external wall to nib wall on other side of opening so I guess 4 m plus 150 mm
each end??
walkereng :

Before we get started I’d like to point out that a Professional Engineer’s
standard of care typically includes a site visit to assess field conditions and
get an overall understanding of the structure. This can obviously not be
accomplished through the internet. The information provided here is meant for
planning purposes only (general sizing and budgeting) and is based on the
information provided by you. All loading cases considered are for vertical loads
only, no lateral analysis has been completed. The information should be verified
by a professional engineer who can visit the site to ensure that potentially
important information has not been overlooked or omitted.

Hold on, let me run a few numbers.

Customer: Kk
walkereng :

one more question, is the 2nd floor area above bedrooms or a general use area?

Customer: It is a living room so yeah general use
walkereng :

ok

Customer: Lounge chairs and tv
walkereng :

I can also give you a couple of engineered wood options for your 14’ span beam:

5-1/2” x 14” King Beam 30F-E4 DF/SP

5-1/4” x 16” Versa-Lam 1.7 2650 DF

These are Boise Cascade products and you can go to the following link to find
distributors in your area. http://www.bc.com/wood/ewp/distributors.html
[http://www.bc.com/wood/ewp/distributors.html]

walkereng :

Let me run a steel option

Customer:

r u still there

walkereng :

One more miute, I had to take a phone call for a few minutes, sorry

Customer:

cool

walkereng :

For a 14’ span, you can use a W10x30 (50 ksi) steel beam. The beam is 5.75” wide
and 10.5” deep and it weighs 30 pounds per foot of beam length.

Since I am not sure what type of metric steel beams are available, you should be
able to take my beam size to a local steel fabricator and they can provide you
with an equivalent beam.

You will need to have a local engineer detail your connections, size your
support columns and determine foundation requirements.

Customer:

No problems will do you have been awesome help

walkereng :

Where are you located in Australia?

Customer:

i would like to do it in timber as the house has timber floors and other exposed
timber beams

Customer:

we are in Perth which is on the west coast opposite side of Australias to Sydney

walkereng :

My daughter studied at CQU a few years ago for a semester in Rockhampton. She
loved it!

Customer:

Yeah is nice place, great climate although i went to New York with my daughter
last August and loved it too, but i dont know if i could live there , very busy
and so big

walkereng :

I was born and raised in Southern California and the there is a difference
between Northern California and Southern California lifestyles, is there a
difference between West Coast and East Coast Australia lifestyles?

walkereng :

If you feel you have received a satisfactory answer to your question, click the
Rating button that is appropriate. Experts are credited for each adequately
rated answer they provide. If you have additional questions, please let me know.
Thanks

Customer:

Very similar life styles but Perth is only quarter of the size of Sydney
probably more the size of Rockhampton we only have about 2 million people in our
whole state which is bigger than Texas

Customer:

Anyway thanks again and i will rate your advice as excellent thanks again

Customer:

Best wishes from Perth Western Australia

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