I Beam as Window Headers - Size?

You need to call on a structural engineer, and pay them.

There is information missing and even if I listed it and received answers, I still couldn't be sure I had asked all the necessary questions without taking a look at the job.

Thanks for the reply.

I did call a structural engineer. He said a 6" x 78" I Beam would work for the structure of the house and the load bearing wall above. Then we will cut a 4" notch in the cement block to hold it.

The Romans built windows with no headers, and many places build with brick stones have no headers too.

Let me correct myself:

somehow they have been designed that way. And stability has been taken into account or not. Failures occurs or don't.

The size of your I beam depends on: span - weight on top - distribution of the weight (how is the cohesion and stiffness of the wall atop).

A different element is how to support it at the ends. On brick - a column -. Even the behavior of the house counts. Cracks in wall e.g.

You see- that is what Pass' wrote about. It is also important how to place it and how to support and fill the gaps to have no cracks later on.

There are "wet finger in the air" answers, but who will take the risk and liability?

Thanks for the reply. As you can see from my reply to Pass... I did call a structural engineer. So all is good.

Unless you have a weird concoction of loads being transferred from the roof down the wall to the top of this window, an S6x17.25 beam ought to do. I'm not up on today's steel prices, but this is ≈100# plus cutting fee, so I would guess about US$100.

The problem with advice like this is that if you do have a weird concoction of loads, all bets are off.

Thanks for the info--that seems to match what another person told me.

I hadn't thought about cutting fees -- so I just talked to someone in the industry and he said that steel is really cheap right now and they are so hungry for work some places are cutting and delivering for free. He thought it would be considerably less than $100, so that's good!

I don't know the details of how you can squeeze in some support above this window. Guessing a bit, I think two 2x10's would be plenty, and perhaps even two 2x8's. If vertical space is tight, then steel is a good way to go. If some herky load like a big rafter timber is above this, someone should do some real calculations. But in a normal world, rules of thumb are usually enough.

Ya, we want to be able to keep the windows as big as possible or else they just look out at a window well--which is why we thought the I Beam would have the smallest profile. The roof is a hip roof with no big timbers anywhere above it. Kind of your typical rambler.

You might want to consider Aluminun or Pultruded Fiberglass which will weigh considerably less. Anotherr medium is wodden I-beams.

As long as you are dealing with an engineer, you might ask about a flitch beam. It will give you the stiffness and strength you require and may be more compatible with the rest of the structure.

I hadn't heard of a "flitch" beam before--thanks for the tip. I have a call into him now.

Thanks!

From your discription of the configuration it sounds as if the rim joist is used for the header with the span reduced by the vertical pipe. Is it really necessary to modify this? If so; Welderman may have the solution, you can add a flitch plate to the rim joist on one or both sides. If interferences do not allow this, I would look at steel angle instead of an I beam.

It has been my experience that steel angle is more commonly used for window and door headers in modern masonry construction. The shape is especially useful for remodleing as it will often slide into the mortar groove without having to remove a course or two of brick.

More good info! Thanks so much. I've added "steel angle" to my list of materials that I'm asking my engineer about. It sure would be nice to NOT have to chip out the concrete.

Thank you everyone! All great suggestions and information. It made me contact the right person and then ask the right questions about the job and the possible materials to be used as a header.

We made a descision and I just got back from ordering the windows. To get the size of windows we want (and easiest way to fill the space they are taken out of) we opted to cut out the rim joist and put in 9.5" LVLs. Extra work shoring everything up while we put in the LVL, but in the long run it will be worth it. It will make trimming the windows adn fixing the outside much easier too.

Thanks again for all of your advice. It was MUCH appreciated.

Patty

If your engineer has determined that LVLs are strong enough, you have part of the solution. Just remember that although LVLs are much stronger than the wood they replace, their deflection is similar. Steel (flitch, I-beam, angle, etc.) is a very good method to significantly increase strength and reduce deflection.

Replacement window operation may not be identical to the windows that are replaced. For example a typical existing older double hung window sash is capable of being opened nearly to the top of the window. Newer replacement window sashes typically can only be opened to approximately 4" from the top of the window - providing less open window area.
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