Brick Veneer Support Over Large Opening.

Atlantex

I'm a new designer for a residential developer and I've come across a seemingly basic question that I'm having trouble answering. I'm designing a 2-story home with a 2 car garage. The house has a standard brick veneer and per IRC2003 R703.7.3 veneer above openings shall be supported on lintels with the spans given in table R703.7.3. According to the table the largest span of a lintel with one story of brick veneer above is 12'-0". This has me confused because a standard two-car garage door is 16'+. So how does one support the veneer above the garage door? This seems like such a common issue that the code should reference it rather than requiring that a solution be engineered.

Looking at R703.7.2.1 there is no maximum span for supporting the veneer on a steel angle but I'm wondering if this applies it does not reference openings.

If there's anything that I can clarify please let me know. Otherwise, thank you in advance for any assistance or suggestions you can provide.

Chris Johnson

Educated guess on what I have had in the past is a 12" steel I beam w another piece of flat steel welded to it this serves as the door header and can carry the load of the brick

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Chris

stacker

what i have done in the past is angle iron over the opening extending 8 inches over onto the brick(each side of opening).lag bolt it into your header about every two feet.set jack legs under it in a few spots where sagging is for sure to happen.and lay your brick.i know this may not be to code,but i have yet to have any problems.
good luck

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Atlantex

Thank you for the suggestion. At this point my primary concern is designing to code so I can get the plans approved and the permit issued. I'm just amazed that I can't seem to find anything in the IRC2003, the 2004 Supplement to the IRC2003, the IRC2003 Commentary, or the IBC2003 that discusses supporting a veneer over a span as large as a garage door where there is a story above the garage. The IRC (R703.7.3) states that the allowable span is 20' using a 2'-6"x3.5"x5/16" steel angle, but this applies only when there is no story above. When there IS a story above the span drops to 12'-0" which is 4' short of what I need.

I'm thinking I must be missing something in the code. However, I have found that an action was brought to the ICC to amend the code to add a design method for spans over large openings, including two car garage doors, up to 18'-3". Unfortunately the amendment was rejected on the basis that the language needed clarification and the span should be increased to 18'-6" so it has yet to be included in the IRC and thus I cannot build to these specifications until it is adopted, likely as a revision to the IRC2006. In the mean time I'm stumped.

Tscarborough

You may have to do it via calculation. Go to BIA.org and look under Technical notes for Tech Note 31B. That should at least give you a basis on which to base your design, and a reference source to help with approval.

RAY MERCHANT

STACKER IS 100 % RIGHT!

Bigbricklayer

The first pic we did the method Stacker mentioned 3"x4" angle iron lagged into the header. The second pic has a bit of an arch to it but we don't use an angle iron at all on those.

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lukachuki

Interesting combination of brick and stone. I like HO's who have the guts to go for something out of the ordinary.

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Driftwood

I'm a Gen in the Bay area,All our projects Must have Eng stamp. Also I do struct.welding. Because of our seismic location we must build strong.
I use a lot of 4"x 12" steel tube , Id weld 3/8" thick angle to this tube to carry brick. Supported by 4x4" tubing on each end. All would be 1/4" wall. I've worked so much with My eng. I think like Him. Using the code to size ,is a poor sub. for engineering,Don't understand that!