Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 3/18/2011

Question
hello,
the wall concerned is double brick and in very good condition. where the doors are to go has existing steel lintels in place, a window and bricks below.
a split metal frame will be fixed from both inside and outside and doors hung.
my question is do i need to reinforce the opning that will be cut with a cavity fillor metal or brick piers perhaps on the wall? am i over designing this?

thanks

Answer
Hi greg, I don't quite follow your question but if the doors are being installed where windows exist now and the header width is the same then you should be able to remove the window sill and the block below the window sill without further reinforcement.  The window header should suffice for the door header.  There should already be reinforcement on each side of the window opening. If the new opening is going to be wider than the existing window then you will need to do something on the sides to support the existing header or install a newer longer lintel. If the windows are side by side and share the same lintel with a pier between them you should be okay as well.  If the windows share the same middle pier but the lintels are individual then I would have to see the actual construction to be able to give an opinion on the removal of the pier.  Generally speaking if you have enough mass on each side of masonry or brick openings the walls would have to give laterally in order for the brick above to cave in.  An example would be if you held three blocks of wood by pressing in on the two outer blocks of wood you can pick up the middle block of wood through compression.  If you lose that compression the middle block of wood will fall down.  The same with brick.  If the sides of an opening can't move laterally apart then the top theoretically can't fall down because compression will hold the bricks in place.  As always, though, I recommend that an engineer be consulted in your area prior to removing any structural elements like posts, beams, or piers.. Sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com