The front of the shed is planned to be 10 blocks high at the moment.
The door opening including frame will be 9 blocks high.

So do I need a concrete lintel plus some concrete bricks for the last
course, or is there a better alternative such as wood?
The only load carried will be the roof, so in theory wood should be fine and
would also be a lot easier to fit.
The gap (double doors) is expected to be about 1624mm so the lintel would be
2000mm.

David WE Roberts wrote:
The front of the shed is planned to be 10 blocks high at the moment.
The door opening including frame will be 9 blocks high.

So do I need a concrete lintel plus some concrete bricks for the last
course, or is there a better alternative such as wood?
The only load carried will be the roof, so in theory wood should be fine
and would also be a lot easier to fit.
The gap (double doors) is expected to be about 1624mm so the lintel
would be 2000mm.
Depends on the outside finish. Rendering onto wood will fall off in time.
Better to use a RC lintel and a course of cut down blocks.

If you are timber cladding for example, then a couple of 9x2 trimmed for
height if needed will be quick and easy.

Bob

David WE Roberts
wibbled on Tuesday 09 March 2010 17:13

The front of the shed is planned to be 10 blocks high at the moment.
The door opening including frame will be 9 blocks high.

So do I need a concrete lintel plus some concrete bricks for the last
course, or is there a better alternative such as wood?
The only load carried will be the roof, so in theory wood should be fine
and would also be a lot easier to fit.
The gap (double doors) is expected to be about 1624mm so the lintel would
be 2000mm.

Can't speak specifically for your case, but if it makes you feel warm and
fuzzy, I have several wooden lintels spanning gaps in the load bearing walls
in my house. 3 are 1.8m long (bay windows). Those are holding their
respective parts of the roof up.

--
Tim Watts

Managers, politicians and environmentalists: Nature's carbon buffer.

David WE Roberts submitted this idea :
The front of the shed is planned to be 10 blocks high at the moment.
The door opening including frame will be 9 blocks high.

So do I need a concrete lintel plus some concrete bricks for the last course,
or is there a better alternative such as wood?
The only load carried will be the roof, so in theory wood should be fine and
would also be a lot easier to fit.
The gap (double doors) is expected to be about 1624mm so the lintel would be
2000mm.

You might be able to use a wood lintel if the gap above is filled with
wood rather than blocks, that is what I did. Another option would be to
use two lengths of angle iron back to back, thus allowing you to use
full size blocks.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

"Harry Bloomfield" wrote in message
. uk...
David WE Roberts submitted this idea :
The front of the shed is planned to be 10 blocks high at the moment.
The door opening including frame will be 9 blocks high.

So do I need a concrete lintel plus some concrete bricks for the last
course, or is there a better alternative such as wood?
The only load carried will be the roof, so in theory wood should be fine
and would also be a lot easier to fit.
The gap (double doors) is expected to be about 1624mm so the lintel would
be 2000mm.

You might be able to use a wood lintel if the gap above is filled with
wood rather than blocks, that is what I did. Another option would be to
use two lengths of angle iron back to back, thus allowing you to use full
size blocks.

Thanks to all - the finish is 'no finish' i.e. just painted blocks so I
think angle iron may be out.
The wood will need painting/treating but it is a lot lighter to lift over 2
metres high :-)