INSTALLING LINTELS or BEAMS (Part 1)Mike Haduck 

I love your old school approach, I worked with a block layer who was approaching his late 70 s and still set his own scaffold ,mixed his own mud,carried his own block. He stopped for 15 min lunch out of his metal lunch pail and thermos and smoked a lucky strike cigarette ,back to work.We framed for him on houses and he Liked our work because we were 2 and 3 man crew,hand nailed everything crowned the wall studds etc.His daughters could lay out and build footers ,lay block etc because they helped their dad growing up! They were both extremely pretty ladies who made good lives for themselves in business world , but their roots and work ethic were bred in masonry !Thanks for the great video, you remind me so much of the men I worked alongside !

Mike, As always, I love watching and learning from your mastery and down to earth style. When we moved into our 1950's era house with detached garage, both structures had been very neglected. The garage is built out of 8" block (CMU). The side door was wooden and severely disintegrated so I decided to replace it with a steel door. I could not find any local contractor who would quote me. I guess they were all either too busy with big jobs or something. One guy actually told me he wasn't interested because the job was too small and that was only after I called him a second time. BTW, I live in Glassboro NJ. At this point I decided I was going to have to do it. The lintel over the existing door was turned the wrong way. The 7 5/8" side was laying flat. I couldn't believe that anybody in the masonry trade would do this. So I purchased two precast lintels and saw cut the block above the door and lintel to accommodate these. The old lintel came out and the two new ones went in the correct way. I had no previous experience doing this and no videos or books to guide me. I worked alone and the job has held up in the 25 years since I did it. The door operates flawlessly. I attribute my abilities to God who gave me the health and common sense in the first place. Bless you Mike. Be healthy.

I learned a lot from this video, Mike! That’s a simple way to make a lintel in the old school way and it makes a lot of sense.

Love watching you work! You could have your own show.

I love watching your work. Thanks for explaining your thought process along the way instead of just saying what is happening.

This channel is flippin GREAT.

Really helpful. No time wasting and a pleasure to watch. Thank you.

Mike Hadock, Thanks for sharing your knowledge I can't began to express how you saved me from so many mistakes and time and money. God bless you and all that you do. Be blessed

Very practical. Really like your no nonsense approach. Thanks. Glen.

Mike, thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge, you are a great teacher. I subscribed!

Mike, you’re the man, sir! I love the enthusiasm you have

Mr Mike you are man Thanks for all the great videos!

to my point, a nice and instructive video from a nice knowledgeable and experienced man at last...

Thank you Mike! Now I know what to do tomorrow:) Simple, make sense, ... shows the principle so one can apply it to their own project.

Mike, I commented on one of your previous video's on the quality of your craftsmanship and how much I enjoy learning from someone as skilled as you are. But I must take yet another moment to let you know how much I personally appreciate you sharing all the years of your knowledge and skill here on RU-vid. You do excellent work! If I lived anywhere close to you, I'd apply for a job working with you in a New York minute. You rock man!!! Keep up the great work and the awesome video's.

I am planning to build my own house and greatly appreciate this video. Showing how to do each one is very valuable information. Thanks so much. I upvoted.

Very helpful. Thanks for sharing the method of bending the rebar before making a lentil old school.

There's so much, "knowing how your mud works here" involved in assembling the lentils. Wetting your block clean, really makes all the difference here. The rebar, the head joints instead of butt jointing it... The numerous passes with the rubber mallet, to eliminate voids. I love watching you work, & being a mason myself, daily I get to apply little things I'll see you doing oy

Awesome approach to sharing your knowledge on the subject. You are very knowledgeable and your teaching style draws one in, thereby making one want to learn more. I have been watching your video's over the past few days and I'm very impressed and have learned quite a bit. I will continue to watch many more if not all in the near future. Please keep up the great work!As someone has already pointed out and I'm sure many others agree, as well as myself you should have your own show!

How beautiful! How useful! What an art!

Now that's what I call a real man's WORK >>> No BS electric tools or anything, very great showcase of what it used to be in the old times. When I saw that small hammer for breaking concrete, I knew I'm watching real man doing a simple old school work. We do this differently, so we pour the substance, cement or whatever used, directly in a specially made wooden box that contains the material not to fall and also makes a great shape of the lentil, but before we pour it, we put rebars evenly separated within the box, ( not a box, it is a collection of wood material connected to each other by wood screws and other supporting tools), and then we pour it directly in the very place we want the lentil to support, and wait, just like you did, so that we don't have to carry them and most importantly, so that the lentil is really connected to the wall, because the idea is like a footing, but for small openings, and above the ground...basically.

Even though I'm in the U.K., and our building regulations (think you call it building code in the USA) here wouldn't allow most of what you show in this video, I still find it really interesting to see all the different approaches to building lintels. Today, here in the U.K. at least, the government wants to nanny everyone, regardless or competence. Great video Mike. Cheers

I always enjoy the humor you add....

Thank you for this video EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR.

I guarantee Im never going to build a lintel. Im an electrician. But I watched another video you made and I just got stuck because you sound so familiar. Im from Chicago and live in Utah for 25 years now, they talk funny out here . lol thanks

Very informative and educational. Thanks!

Putting aside the content the video explaitons and views of examples as you go along is excellently done. With the content the video is fantastic.

This was the most helpful explanation on how to build a lentil

Your a proper old-school mason, thanks Mike, Aussie old-school Mick from the Philippines... Not many regulations here btw. Cheers Champ :))

Great video Mike! As always!

An interesting and informative video. My Dad knew all this stuff. Could build a house from bottom to top, foundation, block, , wood subfloor, trusses, electric, plumbing. He was a union carpenter. But he has passed on now, so I loved watching your video. Thanks, God bless.

Yes Sir, Real good show on how to make and install a lintel... I am about to finish the work I told you about, but I had some problems in trying to finish, not building problems, health ones, go figure...anyhow need a few more days to be able to get back on the job, as always thks for the info, You know what you are doing and I want to know, so will let you know when I am all done...Til then keep them coming Mike...JRC

Very many Thanks Mike. That's the perfect solution for my particular awkward project, and I'm sure many other peoples' too.

Very informative....Thanks for posting. Great info for sure.

wonderfully instructive. thanks...again

Great job and great advice! TY!!

Awesome tips thanks Mike I learned a lot,

Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge and expertise. Used your old school techniques to build them. Thanks again....Bill

Fantastic, thanks for sharing!

Tanks Mike haduck for this vídeo

Love your videos!

Mike...I just want to say how much I have enjoyed binge watching all of your video's. You an extremely talented guy....from automotive work to playing musical instruments and singing in your band. Thank yo so much. I really wish you were on TV....who knows?That could get you married? lol

Great video...learned a lot...thanks.

Third secure easy way is to make a wooden mould fill it with concrete four steel bars and it's ok!

so instructive, thanks very well

I will always give you the thumbs up 👍

Very helpful , thanks 👍

great video lots of good info :)

I laughed out loud at the breaking out of prison line!

Hey bro good day that was eye opening appreciated

Wow! You weren’t afraid of that block collapsing? You know your concrete!

great info simply explained ..

Very informative.

Made my first lintel. Thanks!

Dying trade ,and about a few more years with this silica safety b.s going to be rough on masonry companies specially ones that do all commercial work .Nice video

The angle iron method looks great

Excellent ! Thank You !

Thanks for the video =)

You tossed that lintel up above the door like it wasn't heavy!

Great videos Mike, thoroughly enjoy see the old school techniques. "Door wall" 👍

lol and if ya gets caught in the act...just tell the wardon "hey man, there was no lintel" another great, informative vid Mike . Thanks

thanks for sharing your knowledge. You put that lintel in place like it was made of styrofoam! Man's work makes a man out of ya!!!

i was also surprised there was no temporary support. I've put in wood headers, but that's a different animal i guess. I'm thinking about opening up a chimney that used to be a coal burner from the basement and installing a wood stove or just a normal fireplace. The entire lintel would need to be able to take heat. if It's an old stone chimney, could i cut a spot for a lintel and put one in to support and then break out the lower portion and then the rest of the rock inside?

You are great ....fantastic

We made our own when I was a lad and cast them in place 60 years ago in England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

That’s a nice junction box to the right of the door!

Mike, I can't find you're video "How I broke out of prison". 😂😂 good one.

informative as ever

Awesome work, Mike. I've seen the angle irons on many buildings, but never knew how lintels were constructed.

“No right or wrong way as long as it works.” Haha love it.

Great Vid Mike, Thanks ! One question. I would think if the bending load on the lintel is pressing down in the middle ( like a bridge ), you would want the rebar inside to droop like the cables of a suspension bridge . With the crown up, the rebar would be in compression as the center is pushed down, and I would think you would want it to be in tension. The crown up rebar would be trying to push the blocks apart when under load instead of trying to pull them together. I believe prestressed concrete beams have the cables inside drooping down away from the "Up" side>

Great Video Mike! What ratio do you mix your Portland and sand? 2nd - Do you use the same mixture in between the blocks as well as the filling?

excelent job

Thank you

I have been watching your videos. Very instructional and clear. My only additional issue is that my beams are sitting on the blocks that I want to cut to make a doorway. Do I do the same thing you did or I have to take some additional steps? Thanks

Thanks for posting and sharing Mike, They are going to ban these videos in the prisons hahahaha I remembered my parents talking about how they built their 1st house out of cinder blocks and formed the lentils right in place, if my dad were living he would be 91, funny how you become like your parents i like to see your dad in your videos.

Dang Mike, you're working like a 20 year old. Go easy buddy, gotta take care of these old bodies! We may accidentally live to 80

We've got a block addition here in Florida to work on if you wan to escape the snow :0

excellent

Hi Mike, thanks for great video. I have a home with a cinder block basement, that I would like to install a door. I would like to enlarge the window opening to do this. My question is that the window opening has no blocks over it. How do I put a lintel in? Is this a structural issue if the wall doesn't have any blocks from floor to ceiling which it would after the door is put in? The window opening is about 32 inches. Thanks

Would you be able to answer a question for me. The structure I want to open up on the house is block construction from the 40's. I'm concerned that lentils won't be enough because I don't know the footers are right, the house is going down hill in one corner. Is there a way to open op the block and make a 10 foot opening, add a lentil and fix the footer? Thanks anyone so much!

A nice decorative lintel could be made by using two cantilevers each projecting one third of the aperture from either side and these locked by the other bricks , then i the faces in between the two cantilevers would be slanted and a keystone or a crown inserted in between. So many ways to bridge a gap!

Hey Mike, if I am cutting in a new crawlspace opening into a foundation, will the wall above be ok until I put the lentil in?

Putting rebars in blocks is just genius. Simple, easy, practical. I'll definitely use it.

Hi Mike, I need to install a lentil over my 10 ft garage door. It's a block building, and someone put a 4x4 with shims over it where a lentil used to be. If I go with the angle iron approach, do I need to secure the angle iron to anything and full it solid like in your steel beams video? Or just cement everything when I lay the block over it like in this video? Thanks, Dean.

Clever stuff

Tuff as nails partner, and I agree with last comment. You could twist a man up like a pretzel throwing that mud and block everyday like you obviously have.

hey how can i connect an existing lintel to the cement block next to it.. .cant believe id have to remover the whole header just to go 8 inches to the left to next block.. any ideas..

If you where to do the outside lentil would you put in some sort of flashing system ?

Mike, Would you have a brand or part number for the blade you are using to cut the blocks? I have a 7" angle grinder and I can't seem to find a blade locally. I did a Google search but there is a dizzying amount to pick from. I'd like to know I'm getting something that works. Thanks!!! Mike

Love it. Simple and to the point.

great Video Mike , learned something new again from a fellow Mrs. T's Pierogie lover. Just wondering though if those dock shoes your wearin are steel tips ;-)

Hi Mike. I'm a big fan and subscriber of your channel. I am about to build a block structure with a lintel that will span a 7 ft opening. I will only have one course of block above the lintel. I really like your angle iron approach. Do you think that would work for such a wide opening? What size angle iron would you recommend? Many thanks!

Great work, anyone doing this should wear a dust mask and goggles.

I’m needing a lintel 7 feet long to go over a single car garage door. Do you think this method would work for that?

Mike, ide like to ask you. can a cinder lintel with bar as you built it, be filled with type S mortar/stucco mix?

Hey Mike , What mix did you use to make the old school block lintel ? Is “S” mortar store bought mix ok to use ?

Could you chase a grove in a wall and install rebar, prior to cutting a door opening in a pre-existing non-loadbearing wall?

You can buy U shaped block for making the lintels. Nice video.

Great video Mike. Do you use a certain type of cement from the store?