I've never spent a lot of time designing lintels. The masonry arches above the opening so you end up with a triangle of load above. A rule of thumb that I've never had a problem with is to provide one 3 1/2 inch horiz. leg angle for each wythe of masonry. The...
Well said Ginger. I'm a very old structural engineer that drew my own designs 45 yrs. ago and also did steel and reinforcing detailing along with design and drafting and doing long hand calculations and using a slide rule....(ever used one?) But those days are gone forever with the advent of...
Some Community Colleges have drafting courses. Also, there are some small private schools, such as Hamilton College that train draftsmen. Doing it yourself might cut down on errors but you can't make any money and you should be out looking for work instead.
How big is the opening is the first question? If it's a man door, around three feet wide, probably don't care what the reinforcing is. Plan concetre will span over the opening. If it's wider, say an overhead door, any reinforcing in the wall won't be in the right place to act as a lintel or...
The Design/Build Institue of America (DBIA.org) I'm sure can be of help as they are the fasting growing construction related organization in the US. I attended their annual conference last year in Chicago and there were folks from all over the world in attendance.
I'm looking for a source for residential size de-humidification equipment that can be linked to the existing furnace ductwork, have a filter section and take in outside air. I've only found one so far. Can anyone help.
