can't find bond blocks locally but can get lintels. is it ok to substitute and what's the trade off? 8' wall 8x8x16 filled solid. thanks.
lintels instead of bond blocks
old carpenter
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can't find bond blocks locally but can get lintels. is it ok to substitute and what's the trade off? 8' wall 8x8x16 filled solid. thanks.
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Must be shopping at Homeless Depot or Blowes.
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BB, RSBB, KOBB, KODL, what kind of Mickey Mouse supply house are you using?!
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A lot of the confusion exists is from the local teminolgy differences.
A "classic" bond beam block is 16" long, 8" high and has a thickness in the wall of 6", 8", 10" or 12". Some manufacturers make bond beams for 14" and 16" thick wall, but the are 8" long and 8" high. A bond beam is reinforced and filled and built at various height locations in the wall and also as the top course to provide a solid unit for bearing and to create a coontinuos segemt of a wall (may be interupted by a vertical control joint).
Bond beam can be used to span over opening, but it is limited by the height of the units.
Lintels are usually higher (16" typical) than bond beams and may span much further, depending on the amount of reinforcement.
A very deep (2' to 4' high) lintels in a wall may be made using common bond beams, normal block and open bottom or "pour through" for the top course that has horizontal reinforcement. Usually some vertical reinforcement is needed to make it act as a beam. It is filled or grouted all at once and the span is usually shored up until there is enough strength to develop the beam action without any deflection ( a couple of days to a week).
Some small producers in some areas have a very limited selection, but many larger producers may have well over 500 different items in stock. I have seen a plant with 4,000,000 block in stock of 1200 different shapes and features. Many of the block were sold to competitors at a premium.
A "classic" bond beam block is 16" long, 8" high and has a thickness in the wall of 6", 8", 10" or 12". Some manufacturers make bond beams for 14" and 16" thick wall, but the are 8" long and 8" high. A bond beam is reinforced and filled and built at various height locations in the wall and also as the top course to provide a solid unit for bearing and to create a coontinuos segemt of a wall (may be interupted by a vertical control joint).
Bond beam can be used to span over opening, but it is limited by the height of the units.
Lintels are usually higher (16" typical) than bond beams and may span much further, depending on the amount of reinforcement.
A very deep (2' to 4' high) lintels in a wall may be made using common bond beams, normal block and open bottom or "pour through" for the top course that has horizontal reinforcement. Usually some vertical reinforcement is needed to make it act as a beam. It is filled or grouted all at once and the span is usually shored up until there is enough strength to develop the beam action without any deflection ( a couple of days to a week).
Some small producers in some areas have a very limited selection, but many larger producers may have well over 500 different items in stock. I have seen a plant with 4,000,000 block in stock of 1200 different shapes and features. Many of the block were sold to competitors at a premium.
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i couldn't believe it myself. most didn't know what i was talking about!
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Precast or poured in place lintels are available, but very rare except in lower quality jobs that are not exposed. - You can hide them by just using paint. Block lintels are very common on exposed architectural masonry structures because they are made in the same way as the miain block, using the same materials and can be split or colored just as the rest of the block.
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I was being facetious to add to Stackers comment. I was just taught to make them from regular block.
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No worries. I have been asked for concrete lintels by masons from out of town, and seen them in trade mags, but it is not something available in this area.
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Precast lintels are used quite often around here and are not considered low quality. What is it that you think make them an inferior product?
I agree Brickie. And bond beams are limited as to spans. Try spanning a 30 or 40 foot stage opening with an block bond beam. Poured in place concrete or steel beam lintels the only way to go when you get to spans like that.
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I could be wrong but I think the comment was alluding to the finish of the masonry, IE exposed block, inferior finishing. Maybe im wrong.
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We did a couple of fire stations years back with a 30' opening and a structural beam made with S/F units. If I remember right it was 24" deep. It was a course of BB with 2 courses of RSBBs over that.
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The widest openings I can remember doing with a bond beam was somewhere around 24'. One was the entrance and one one the exit of a parking garage. If I remember correctly it was also 24" tall, one BB and 2 knock outs. I also remember thinking that this is alot more work and slower than using a steel I-beam infilled with block.
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