Basement Windows

[mreynolds]

Rich ,
I have been working on my basement for the past 2 weeks and I am getting near the top. Is there any special considerations for the placement of basement windows? Can they sit right under the sill place(essentially in the last couple of courses)? What I was concerned about is the windows that would go on the long wall of my house, they could have a floor joist sitting on the sill directly above, is this a problem?
Thanks

[Rich]

Yes - it's definately a problem. You will need to have an engineer size a steel lintel for you. Typically the lintels are 4"x4"x1/4" steel "L" formed into the wall.

[mreynolds]

Thanks for the heads up. I found the engineering charts for the Lintels that go with my forms and it looks like I need to make some adjustments.
I assume that a "Concentrated Load" would be something like a floor joist sitting on top of the window lintel.

[Rich]

That would be a concentrated load as well as anyplace you would need squash blocks that carry load from the roof down to the foundation.

[mreynolds]

I spoke with my neighbor who is far more intelligent about these things than I am. He suggested to get a piece of LVL that was the size of the rim joist and hang the floor joists to it over the window openings in the long walls, effectively making a header in these area. Sometimes it amazes me how simple these things can be.

[DIYForFun]

I have a similar problem and was thinking about the same solution. Did you do it this way? With the built up wood beam and joist hangers? I was wondering if doing this on a block foundation wall would weaken it vs some sort of steel or concrete beam in the top course.