Our entire catalogue of lintels and t-bars feature Safe Load Tables so you can quickly determine the total (allowable) load for each of your structural components. You must determine the loadbearing before designing for stresses. Concentrated loads are forces applied at a single point on a beam or structure.

Uniform Loads are forces applied evenly over the length of the support system, i.e. Loads can be described as either uniform or concentrated. Loadbearingīy its definition, lintels are designed to support the loads above the gap where it is installed. Proper lintel design must consider load, stress, and serviceability otherwise, cracking or spalling (pitting or flaking of bearing material) could occur. No matter where they are being used, all lintels must meet the structural and serviceability requirements to perform their task successfully.

Shelf Angles are used in panel wall systems, where the exterior brickwork is supported by shelf angles rigidly attached to the structural frame.

Steel Beam/Plates are used in solid walls with large super-imposed loads or walls with openings larger than 2.4 metres.

Single-Angles are placed back to back in solid masonry walls.

Combinations are used in solid masonry walls because single loose angles are usually incapable of doing the job.

Loose Angles are laid in the wall and span the entire opening (no lateral support).

There are different types of structural lintels for brickwork and masonry, including single-angle lintels installed in cavity or veneer walls, steel beams with plates for solid walls, and shelf angles typically used for brick veneer panel walls. The engineer's role is to guide the builder based on various factors we cannot fully explain here. While we’d love to be able to give you all the information to use structural steel lintels, we cannot offer specifications on which item can and cannot be used. Any advice in this article is intended as ‘general content only’, and builders should refer to a qualified structural engineer for specifications and advice for their project. However, before we begin, we must stress that only a certified engineer can specify what structural items (including lintels) are used, where and how. Successful lintel design and installation must consider the load, type of load, structural design of the building, material selection and its required maintenance, moisture control around the opening, and provisions to avoid unwanted movement and installation issues. It can still cause enough structural damage to result in rebuilding all over again. Using Structural Steel LintelsĪlthough the absence of lintels or poorly installed lintels won’t necessarily mean a pile of rubble where your house used to be.

These same properties make steel the preferred material for lintels for brickwork and other structural applications. In contrast, timber is anisotropic, meaning its density varies along and across the grain, which is less than ideal for loadbearing purposes.Ĭompared to timber, steel is much stronger than wood because of its chemical makeup. Isotropic means steel has the same level of strength everywhere. Loadbearing supports like these are used to strengthen the structural integrity of a building and are often mandatory under national building codes.Ī mainstay in construction and architecture for their durability and practicality, steel lintels can withstand heavy loads across wide openings without deterioration, thanks to their isotropic properties. Steel lintels are structural components installed over an opening in a wall, like a window or a doorway, to support the loads above the gap and prevent the structure from collapsing.

Steel lintels in concrete block walls