It occured to me that if joist hangers could be fitted to the lintel, then
the lintel could be placed 6" higher up (the depth of the upstairs joists).
I'll ask my builder tomorrow (who I'm sure knows the answer to this) but I
just thought I'd ask here in case he does any teeth sucking and muttering
along the lines of "Can't be done squire" etc. etc..
Tim
I wouldn't fancy using a concrete lintel - I would beware of holes
(for hangers) would probly weaken it too much.
Are you still allowed to use a good ole RSJ - timber beams can be
accomodated each side of the "I" section (that "I" should be in
Courier font or it don't make sense!) and litle or nothing to protrude
below ceiling level.....
hope it helps
Jim
Tim,
Is it not possible to use a timber 'trimmer' joist between the existing
floor joists to support the stairs at the correct level?
Tanner-'op
I'm sure we could but that would mean paying for a structural engineer
(again) so I was wondering if we could just deal with what has already been
passed by the BCO.
Tim
With hindsight steel would have been better but I am neither a builder or an
architect and didn't realise the potential problem with the concrete lintel
until now.
Tim
>> I wouldn't fancy using a concrete lintel - I would beware of holes
>> (for hangers) would probly weaken it too much.
>> Are you still allowed to use a good ole RSJ
>
>I'm sure we could but that would mean paying for a structural engineer
>(again) so I was wondering if we could just deal with what has already been
>passed by the BCO.
What's the span of the opening? Does it have any other beams
supported on it at right angles? If it's a straight-forward
uniformly-loaded beam (which if it isn't, PCC concrete usually isn't
the best choice), you may find the BCO would be willing to accept a
straight substitution of a steel beam for a concrete one. IME, the
kind of loads that a 9" PCC lintel will span will probably only need a
178 or a 203x102 UB.
If you have had calcs for the concrete lintel already, that's the hard
part already done. 75% of engineers will use calculation software, so
it should be a simple matter to click the tick box for 'steel' rather
than 'concrete' and run the calcs again. 20% will be able to do it on
the back of an envelope. The other 5% probably got the lintel
manufacturer to do the work for free and charged you.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
just how far from the pack have you strayed?"