We're have an internal wall removed and to hold the upstairs up, a concrete
lintel is going in. Rather late in the day I realised that the depth of the
lintel (9"), if placed under the upstairs floor joists, is going to make a
sizeable impression on the headroom downstairs.

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

Tim Downie wrote:
We're have an internal wall removed and to hold the upstairs up, a concrete
lintel is going in. Rather late in the day I realised that the depth of the
lintel (9"), if placed under the upstairs floor joists, is going to make a
sizeable impression on the headroom downstairs.

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 Downie wrote:
We're have an internal wall removed and to hold the upstairs up, a
concrete lintel is going in. Rather late in the day I realised that
the depth of the lintel (9"), if placed under the upstairs floor
joists, is going to make a sizeable impression on the headroom
downstairs.
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

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

jim wrote:
Tim Downie wrote:
We're have an internal wall removed and to hold the upstairs up, a
concrete lintel is going in. Rather late in the day I realised
that the depth of the lintel (9"), if placed under the upstairs
floor joists, is going to make a sizeable impression on the
headroom downstairs.

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

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

Tim Downie wrote:
We're have an internal wall removed and to hold the upstairs up, a
concrete lintel is going in. Rather late in the day I realised that
the depth of the lintel (9"), if placed under the upstairs floor
joists, is going to make a sizeable impression on the headroom
downstairs.
A 9 inch concrete lintel? - who decided to use that?
1) steel is far superior
2) it's also cheaper
3) and lighter
4) and stronger
5) and the joists can sit in the web

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

wrote:
On 24 Apr,
"Phil L" wrote:

A 9 inch concrete lintel? - who decided to use that?
1) steel is far superior
2) it's also cheaper
3) and lighter
4) and stronger
5) and the joists can sit in the web

It's difficult to fit existing joists in the web, at least on one
side.

The web could be filled with timber and the existing trimmed joists
fitted with joist hangers.

Or else just fit two trimmers with a filch plate.

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

On Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:17:20 +0100, a particular chimpanzee, "Tim
Downie" randomly hit the keyboard
and produced:

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?"