I am putting in a 5 ft wide opening in a load bearing double layer brick wall. The plan is;

1) steel needles w/ shoring posts above planned lintel location
2) shoring posts direct to joists over opening
3) removing brick for lintel location
4) inserting lintel and securing lintel
5) remove supports
6) saw out frame of doorway below lintel, remove bricks...

My questions are - I know I can rent the shoring posts - what about the steel needles - can you rent them? buy them? do they have an official name? I cant find anything online....in the UK they seem to use something called a strongboy which seems much more efficient than a steel needle going through both sides - but they dont seem to sell them in the US, is there a US equivalent to the strongboy - any suggestions?

Thanks

 

I'm not sure what you mean by needles. Most forum members stay away from answering questions that involve altering load bearing walls. That's why you haven't had an answer after 120 views. IMO, you would build a temporary header a few feet inside where the opening will be, cut out the bricks, then install a steel header & your door.

However, it's always better to have an architect look at the job first.

 

Understood, but my "temporary" header would be the shoring posts on the joists - your version of the temporary header would not support the brick structure above lintel at all when that space is being cut out - that is what the "needles" are for. you drive them through the bricks to the other side of the wall and then support them with shoring posts and a crossbeam - that way the bricks dont get stressed while you are cutting the opening...so the "needle" can be a steel pipe or if I dont get any answers I will just use strong timbers or cut down lvl on edge...

 

Hi mlupa. For what its worth, this is how we would do it before strongboys came out. For a 5ft wide opening, we would use just 1 needle going through a hole cut in the wall, central above the proposed opening, and above the level of the new lintel(s). For normal domestic loading, the needle would be a short piece of steel, or a piece of 4x4 timber. This would need to be no more than about 4 or 5 ft long and would be supported inside and outside by the acrows (adjustable props). Keep the props not too far apart. A few of the bricks will work loose but this is normal and you re-mortar them afterwards. Because of the arching effect of brickwork, you will find that most above the needle will stay intact. If the floor joists run on to the wall, put a short plank under them and support with an additional prop. (This advice is given in good faith and without liability).

(Strongboys do away with all this and enable us to work from one side, with the otherside unobstructed. Possibly the reason why they are easily available in the UK is that our construction is still overwhelmingly brick rather than timber frame as in the US).

 

Usually worth the cost of a trip to have a structural engineer on-site to render an opinion in cases like this.

 

http://s1059.photobucket.com/albums/t436/tonyg43/

 

Thanks tony.g - your diagram and explanation is consistent with my plan. I really wish they sold strongboys here in the US, that would make it so much simpler...anyway I will go with the timbers as you suggested and since the supports are on the first floor, I will also anchor all supports on a 2x6 or something similar to provide some weight distribution across the floor. thanks again..