fieldstone bearing wall design

huangyhg

fieldstone bearing wall design
may 28, 2000
i am considering undetaking a project which
consists of cutting a 8'x 8' hole in an 18"
thick fieldstone bearing wall for a church
cathederal. i would like to obtain reference
material related to design of stone wall
construction and also details for supporting
lintels or frames. i am assuming i will have to
design for horizontal thrust from the rafter
system. i have not seen the church at this time.
sounds like a very interesting project.  care to keep us updated?  i don't have any advice other than the obvious that the field stone above the lintel will arch.
good luck on the project,
imagineer
the fieldstone wall was aproximately 20 feet high. the floor joists from the second floor did not bear on this particular wall, but there was some loading from roof rafters at the top of the wall.
the owner requested a door opening 3'-4" x 7'-0". the wall is 2'-0" thick. i designed a support system  consisting of a 2'-0" wide x 8" thick x 2'-0" high reinforced concrete pedestal on each side of the openning with 8" reinf cmu piers on top of the pedestals, and 4 w 6x9 lintels spanning the opening, and bearing on a 3/4" steel bearing plate. when arching of the wall is taken into account the loads are really not that large and the 4 lintels where utilizied to provide full bearing for the wall.