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Glam Journal

How do you calculate lintel load?

Author

Matthew Shields

Updated on April 07, 2026

How do you calculate lintel load?

Measure the size of the open space between the walls where the door/window frame is fitted. Add a minimum of 150mm to each end. For example, for a structural opening or clear span of 1,800mm, the minimum lintel length required will be 1,800 + 150 + 150 = 2,100mm.

How big should a lintel be?

What size concrete lintel do I need? The lintel should be installed with a minimum end bearing of 150mm, so measure your opening and add at least 300mm. Unlike steel lintels, a concrete lintel is often used in visible areas and painted if required.

What should be the width of concrete lintels?

The lintel width, or width of the combination of side-by-side lintels, should equal the width of the supported masonry wythe. Lintels should be clearly marked on the top whenever possible to prevent the possibility of improper installation in the wall.

How big is a bond beam over a lintel?

Use a lintel self-weight of 61 lb/ft (0.89 kN/m) and weight of 77.9 lb/ft² (3.73 kPa) for the bond beam at the top of the wall over the lintel (ref. 4). Check for arching action: The effective span length, L = 96 + 5.88 = 101.9 in. (2588 mm).

What kind of load span table do I need for lintel?

This first load span table is for a standard 50mm cavity lintel. The second table is for a 50mm composite extra heavy duty (CXHD) lintel. Let’s assume you need a 900mm lintel, you would look at the details of the first column of each of the two tables.

What are the ACI requirements for concrete lintels?

ACI 318 contains requirements for minimum and maximum reinforcing steel areas to ensure a minimum level of performance. Minimum reinforcement area for lintels is As min = 3 ( f’c) ½bd / fy but not less than 200 bd / fy. In addition, the reinforcement ratio is limited to 75% of the balanced reinforcement ratio, ρmax = 0.75ρ b.

How tall is a standard steel lintel in mm?

As standard our steel lintels increase in length by 150mm, the two values represent the length of the lintel that the values in that column relate to. If it is 600 | 1200 it means the load span details can be applied to any lintel between 600mm and 1200mm. Nominal height – The height of the lintel in mm.

What kind of concrete is used for lintel?

Precast lintels are used up to the span length is 2m; if the opening length exceeds 2m, then the lintel would be constructed by the cast-in-situ method. The M15 (1:2:4) concrete grade is usually used for lintel concrete.

Are there load span tables for concrete lintels?

However, for anyone starting out in the industry, getting to grips with interpreting the load spans for prestressed concrete lintels and steel lintels is not always straight forward. This post examines the load span tables featured for both concrete and steel lintels and will demonstrate how you should interpret the values within them.

What’s the minimum depth for a brick lintel?

The minimum depth of the brick lintel should be 20cm, and as usual, width is to be equal to the thickness opening. The steel lintel contains steel angles or rolled joists. The steel lintels are used when the load is heavy, or the length of the opening is considerable.