Need some advise, cutting a block wall to install a door........

[MotorSeven]

We recently bought a lakefront home and have turned it into an AirBnB. It has a full finished basement with two bedrooms, a bath, and a small one car garage in the finished walk out basement. There is only a old heavy roll up wood garage door, and a double window in the bedroom on the walkout side. My concern is fire and a difficult escape path. What I am going to do it remove the double window in the bedroom and cut the block to install a door. The opening will be 60.5" so I plan on a 36" door and a fixed glass in the remaining dead space. I already have a leftover framed 22" x 80 thermal pane from my log house build(one of 4 'oops' windows I had special ordered that were the wrong size). Anyway, it's the last one left, so even if I have to remove the frame to make it fit I want to use it.

Today I starting pulling off the interior trim to get a actual opening measurement. What I discovered is that there is no concrete Lintel over the window....

The house is 34 years old and does not have any foundation problems and I immediately looked above the garage door and don't think that they used a Lintel there either. Question one, is not using concrete Lintels and apparently making them out of wood acceptable? So, since the opening will be about 24"-ish larger than the door, I am concerned about the center upright/support between the glass and the door frame. Since I am tearing the window and associated supports out, should I remove the half blocks on each side at the top and install a Lintel of either wood, concrete? or steel?

I could also weld up a steel frame to fit into the opening with a off center support between the glass and door......just not sure which way to go and I do not want to cause any foundation issues when I cut this block all the way down to the slab and remove it.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Anytime you add steel, it will be stronger. At the least, a full thickness wood header would be in order.

 

[TnAndy]

Do the floor joist above run parallel (which is my guess, and what it looks like in the first pic--non load bearing) with the opening, or perpendicular to the opening (load bearing).

If it's non load bearing, you don't need anything.....just do what they did, fill in over the door with wood.

 

[Billrog]

Like TnAndy said or maybe they doubled up on the boxing joist using it for a header.

 

[MotorSeven]

Do the floor joist above run parallel (which is my guess, and what it looks like in the first pic--non load bearing) with the opening, or perpendicular to the opening (load bearing).

If it's non load bearing, you don't need anything.....just do what they did, fill in over the door with wood.

Yep Parallel. I must be ****, I used concrete Lintels w/rebar in em, then poured a 6" cap the width of my block all the way around at the top of my block walls. Leaving that open like they did gives me the hebejeebees.

Ok, so just cut below the window to the slab, jack hammer out the threshold.Then slap a framed door and side window in there?

 

[MotorSeven]

The existing windows in there are all messed up. Counter weights don't work and the poly frame is cracked all the way thru in a couple of places....makes me think they have some load on them from somewhere. The overhead deck outside(it's a Chalet style) also has parallel joists and one of them is right over the window.

The window is right above the chairs under the deck in this pic:

 

[MotorSeven]

And yes, when it warms up I am going to fix the deck 'dips' due to having a cantilever without proper support joists(way short and spliced in exactly the wrong place)

 

[jaxs]

When I removed 16' of exterior load bearing wall (roof rafters and ceiling joists resting on it) to expand my family room,I installed a laminated wood header. 20 years later with no movement. New homes often use double 2x12s above 16' garage doors but some sag in later years.

 

[dmottv]

I think your header questions are well answered. My experience was similar, sliding glass doors on the northwest lake end of the house. It is the cold side in the winter with the wind sweeping across the lake from southwest to northeast. I pulled the sliders, framed the openings for a 36 inch swing fiberglass door with insulated window in top half, and an insulated doublehung window in a framed wall beside each. It is the gable end with the joists running parallel above so I built the header with 2x6 and plywood sandwiched between. The door is much warmer now, the view is the same, and there has been no deflection above in 20 years.

 

[TnAndy]

Yep Parallel. I must be ****, I used concrete Lintels w/rebar in em, then poured a 6" cap the width of my block all the way around at the top of my block walls. Leaving that open like they did gives me the hebejeebees.

Not ****.....maybe a bit overkill......but hard to even say that about good solid construction.

Ok, so just cut below the window to the slab, jack hammer out the threshold.Then slap a framed door and side window in there?

Given there does seem to be some pressure from above that may have cracked the window, you might want to get at least a vertical stud beside the wall and as much of a wood header above the proposed door as you can get for some reassurance, but yeah, other than that cut out below and whatever you have to do to get it in.