Hi stlouisz:
You have a number of meaningful responses ... all alluding to the fact that you need to consider various things -- and if I may reiterate ...
1) span of the lintel 2) loading on the lintel ... uniformly distributed load (udl) and/or point load(s) on the lintel 3) effective depth of the lintel ... that is easy since you have the total available depth for the lintel 4) the width of the lintel concrete
so if it meets the prescriptive design requirements (most likely in Block Manufacturer's Tables), you select the reinforcing steel required at bottom, nominal steel for top, the required number of ties and the size of the tie bar, the Grade of Steel (e.g. 60 ksi), and the 28-day compressive strength of concrete (e.g. 4000 psi)
If you are outside the range of prescriptive design, then a Structural Engineer will design the lintel for you ... which essentially means he will compute and provide you the information in the preceding paragraph. |