Hi, I am trying to figure out what type of lintel I need for a new opening through a basement wall to connects two existing areas. The wall is made of block and supports 75 courses of brick *double row*, not veneer. The opening is for a small passageway of 20" (50cm). I would like to know if angle steel on each side of the wall would be sufficient (4x4x1/4) to support the load above. Or maybe I need an H or I steel beam? I was thinking of leaving 6 to 8 inches on each side, too. The wall thickness is the regular width of a block, 6 to 8 inches? Not sure. Thanks! :wall: :help:

Hello, I am building a patio with paver stones, roughly 20x16. I am building it on rocky clay in New England. I have dug out my soil and plan to put geotextile fabric over the clay before I lay my crushed stone and dust. I have a few questions and am grateful for any guidance: ~Is the fact that the clay is rocky going to cause any problems? I have removed as many rocks as I can but it is impossible to remove them all. ~Can the depth of my crushed stone base fluctuate so long as it is always at least 4" deep? After excavating and removing stones the soil bed is not a consistent depth- some areas have space for 4" of crushed stone but some areas could go as high as 8" or maybe even 12" of crushed stone. Is this ok? Does it matter if the soil bed is not perfectly even so long as it is compacted, has geotextile fabric over it, and the crushed stone is lever after installation? ~The patio will slope down 4" away from the house over 16 feet, which I believe is a good slope? I've also read that 2" over 16 feet would work? ~Lastly, the water will drain right towards my detached garage (an old 2-horse carriage house that isn't nearly as nice as that may sound), which has a concrete slab floor and no foundation. There will be about 12" between the end of the patio and the garage. My plan is to dig a canal here to collect the water and move it to another part of the yard to drain. Is this a good idea or am I asking for trouble having the canal so close to the garage? The setup of my yard makes it nearly impossible to have it drain in any other direction. Thanks for reading this and many thanks for any feedback!