French Patio Door in Brick Wall


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Old 08-28-07, 09:26 PM
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French Patio Door in Brick Wall

I am installing a 6' wide exterior french door in a brick exterior wall. The house was built in the 40's and the exterior wall is 2 rows of brick (2 different types of brick as well). I am up to about 84" and the bricks have switched direction and am not sure if i can take what appears to be the last row below what i think is the concrete beam running along this perimeter wall. The door will be custom and if i can go up a couple of more inches by taking out this last brick it will give me a higher door height. It is two stories. The first story wood ceiling beams run parrell to this wall that i am cutting into.

I am not very familar with this construction type and would appreciate any thoughts.
Thanks
 
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Old 08-28-07, 10:33 PM
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I think you are looking at a row lock course under a bond beam.

Advice, Wow! Dismantling load bearing sections without professional consultation, and being unfamiliar with the assembly is extremely risky. Flip a coin. You may have destabilized and/or compromised the structure. Maybe not. If not, removing the row lock is of little consequence.
 
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Old 08-29-07, 06:26 AM
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French Doors

Thanks for the info on row lock and bonding beam. I am pretty comfortable that the stability issue as i have set in some 4x4 posts between the bottom concrete beam and the top "row lock" of bricks.

What i was wondering is, it is normal for this concrete beam that is above this row (appears to be about 8-10" high) normally just laid upon the bricks??

I can shoot my flashlight down the hole i have created and see the corner of the house and i do not see any vertical supports; just the bricks. There is no wood at all but i would have thought that at the corners there might be a concrete or some sort of steal tube/beam that would hold the bonding beam up.

As i mentioned, the ceiling joists do not end on this wall but rather run parrell to this wall. So the wood 2x10 ceiling joist that runs closest to this wall i am tearing into rests on the perpendicular concrete beam on the opposing wall and the other end rests on an interior load bearing wall. What i am trying to say is that this ceiling joist does not appear to be secured to the bonding beam that i am working under.

Thanks for your advice.
 
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Old 08-30-07, 04:52 AM
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Your idea of stability misses the mark. Stability starts with the soil and the foundation design. Maybe they will accommodate the new load distribution and maybe they won’t

One of the purposes of the bond beam is distributing the upper loads more equally over the wall. After removal, the bond beam, the remaining sections of the wall, and the sections of foundation under them must perform additional work. Even though the joists run parallel, this where you may be making grave assumptions about load distribution.

A bond beam is mortared to the supporting brickwork. A bond break (mortar less juncture) may or may not exist around and above the bond beam. The rowlock course (laid lengthwise on the narrowest face) under the bond beam is typical for a load bearing wall. Your description of viewing with a flashlight fits “cavity wall” construction. The brickwork is capable of carrying the loads unaided. (Within the cavity wood would rot and steel would rust)
 
 

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