The 2024 Ontario Building Code sets steel lintel sizes in Article 9.20.5.2., which has three tables: Table 9.20.5.2.-B for angle lintels supporting masonry veneer, Table 9.20.5.2.-A for loose angle lintels in solid masonry walls, and Table 9.20.5.2.-C for steel beams carrying veneer and a wood stud wall over wide openings. For 90 mm brick veneer, for example, an L89 × 89 × 6.4 angle may span up to 2.47 m, and every lintel sized from these tables needs at least 150 mm of bearing at each end.
These figures come from the 2024 Ontario Building Code (O. Reg. 163/24, in force January 1, 2025), which adopts the National Building Code of Canada 2020 with Ontario's amendments. Ontario replaces the national lintel article with its own, so national code tables and US span charts don't apply here.
What Article 9.20.5.2. requires
The lintel rules in Part 9 (houses and small buildings) come down to six points:
- Masonry over openings must be supported by steel or reinforced concrete lintels, or by masonry arches, designed to support the loads on them.
- Steel angle lintels supporting masonry above openings follow Table 9.20.5.2.-A.
- Steel angle lintels supporting masonry veneer follow Table 9.20.5.2.-B.
- Lintels sized from those two tables need even and level bearing, at least 150 mm long at each end, on masonry, concrete or steel.
- Steel angle lintels supporting masonry must be prime painted or otherwise protected from corrosion.
- Steel beams carrying masonry veneer and a wood stud wall follow Table 9.20.5.2.-C, are supported at each end by a steel column, and have a plate at least 6 mm thick welded to the flange to carry the veneer.
Part 9 applies to buildings of three storeys or less with a building area of up to 600 m² in the residential, business, mercantile and medium- and low-hazard industrial groups. Larger buildings fall under Part 4 structural design, and lintels there are engineered.
Steel lintel span table for masonry veneer (Table 9.20.5.2.-B)
This is the table that covers most window and door openings in brick and stone veneer houses. Angle sizes are written as vertical leg × horizontal leg × thickness, in millimetres. Spans are the maximum allowable spans in metres for each veneer type.
| Angle size (mm) | Imperial equivalent (in) | 70 mm brick | 90 mm brick | 100 mm stone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89 × 76 × 6.4 | 3-1/2 × 3 × 1/4 | 2.55 | not listed | not listed |
| 89 × 89 × 6.4 | 3-1/2 × 3-1/2 × 1/4 | 2.59 | 2.47 | 2.30 |
| 102 × 89 × 6.4 | 4 × 3-1/2 × 1/4 | 2.79 | 2.66 | 2.48 |
| 127 × 89 × 7.9 | 5 × 3-1/2 × 5/16 | 3.47 | 3.31 | 3.08 |
| 127 × 89 × 11 | 5 × 3-1/2 × 7/16 | 3.64 | 3.48 | 3.24 |
| 127 × 89 × 13 | 5 × 3-1/2 × 1/2 | 3.82 | 3.59 | 3.33 |
| 152 × 89 × 11 | 6 × 3-1/2 × 7/16 | 4.06 | 3.82 | 3.54 |
| 152 × 89 × 13 | 6 × 3-1/2 × 1/2 | 4.32 | 4.07 | 3.77 |
| 152 × 102 × 13 | 6 × 4 × 1/2 | 4.37 | 4.12 | 3.82 |
| 178 × 102 × 11 | 7 × 4 × 7/16 | 4.57 | 4.30 | 3.99 |
| 178 × 102 × 13 | 7 × 4 × 1/2 | 4.87 | 4.59 | 4.25 |
Source: 2024 Ontario Building Code, Division B, Table 9.20.5.2.-B. Imperial sizes are the nominal equivalents. One metre is about 3.28 ft, so 2.47 m is roughly 8 ft 1 in.
How to read the veneer table
- Pick the column for your veneer. Heavier veneer (stone) gets shorter spans from the same angle.
- Find the smallest angle whose span covers your opening, with some margin. The listed sizes are minimums: a heavier angle is acceptable, a lighter one is not.
- The vertical leg is listed first. On unequal angles, the longer leg stands vertical behind the veneer and the shorter leg sits horizontal under it. The depth of the vertical leg is what gives the lintel its stiffness.
- Add the bearing. The lintel is at least 300 mm longer than the opening (150 mm each end).
Worked example: a 1.8 m window in 90 mm brick veneer. The smallest listed angle, L89 × 89 × 6.4, is good for 2.47 m in 90 mm brick, so it covers the opening. The lintel length is at least 1.8 + 0.15 + 0.15 = 2.1 m. A 3.2 m opening in the same wall needs at least an L127 × 89 × 7.9 (3.31 m), at a minimum length of 3.5 m.
Steel lintels in solid masonry walls (Table 9.20.5.2.-A)
Solid masonry walls, built from two or more wythes of brick, are common in older Ontario houses. Unlike veneer, the inner wythes often carry floor and roof loads. Table 9.20.5.2.-A covers these "loose" lintels: an exterior angle under the face brick and one or two interior angles under the backing.
The exterior angle depends only on the clear span and whether the face is brick or stone:
| Clear span | Exterior angle for 100 mm brick | Exterior angle for 100 mm stone with 50 mm facing |
|---|---|---|
| 1.2 m or less | L89 × 89 × 6.4 | L127 × 89 × 7.9 |
| 1.5 m | L89 × 89 × 7.9 | L127 × 89 × 7.9 |
| 1.8 m | L102 × 89 × 7.9 | L127 × 127 × 7.9 |
| 2.1 m | L102 × 89 × 7.9 | L127 × 127 × 7.9 |
| 2.4 m | L127 × 89 × 7.9 | L127 × 127 × 7.9 |
| 2.7 m | L127 × 89 × 11 | L127 × 127 × 11 |
| 3.0 m | L152 × 102 × 11 | L127 × 127 × 13 |
The interior angles are selected from the rest of the table by wall thickness (203 mm or 305 mm) and by the floor load per metre of span, in steps from no floor load up to 21,900 N/m. Thicker walls use pairs of interior angles. As the span and floor load go up, the angles get heavier, and at the longest spans and heaviest loads the table has no entry, which means the lintel must be designed.
The notes to Table 9.20.5.2.-A matter as much as the sizes:
- The floor load can be left out when the distance from the top of the opening to the bottom of the floor construction is greater than the width of the opening.
- Interior and exterior angles in 200 mm walls, and interior angles in 300 mm walls, are bolted together when the clear span is over 1,800 mm.
- The interior angles were designed for the floor load plus brick masonry of a height equal to the width of the opening.
- The table assumes an allowable steel stress of 138 MPa and limits deflection to 1/700 of the span.
Because working out the floor load per metre takes some structural knowledge, most solid-masonry lintels in renovations are sized by a designer or engineer even when the table applies.
Steel beams over wide veneer openings (Table 9.20.5.2.-C)
Garage doors and wide patio openings in veneer walls often exceed what an angle can do. Table 9.20.5.2.-C gives maximum spans for wide-flange beams carrying masonry veneer and a wood stud wall above:
| Beam | 70 mm brick | 90 mm brick | 100 mm stone |
|---|---|---|---|
| W150 × 22 | 4.23 m | 4.09 m | 3.92 m |
| W150 × 30 | 4.68 m | 4.52 m | 4.32 m |
| W200 × 27 | 5.26 m | 5.08 m | 4.84 m |
| W200 × 31 | 5.57 m | 5.37 m | 5.11 m |
| W200 × 36 | 5.70 m | 5.49 m | 5.23 m |
These spans assume the beam carries the veneer, a wood stud wall and a specified roof live load of no more than 2.3 kN/m. Where the beam also carries floor loads or larger roof loads, the table doesn't apply and the code points you to its steel beam span requirements in Article 9.23.4.3. instead. The beam needs a steel column at each end and a plate at least 6 mm thick welded to the flange to support the veneer. If W-shape names are new to you, our steel beam span tables for Ontario homes article explains how they are read.
When the tables don't apply
Use an engineer, not the tables, when:
- The opening is wider than the largest span listed for your wall.
- A beam, girder truss, post or other concentrated load lands over the opening.
- The lintel carries floor or roof loads in a veneer wall.
- The wall is not one the tables describe (for example, block foundation walls, which we cover in our article on lintels for basement egress windows).
- The building falls outside Part 9.
- You are cutting a new opening in an existing load-bearing wall and the loads above are not obvious.
Steel lintel standard sizes we supply
Angles in the sizes listed in these tables are standard structural shapes. We cut them to length and punch, drill or weld them as the detail requires. Tell us the finish you need when you ask for a quote. For the weights of common sizes and what to send with an order, see custom steel lintels in Ontario. If you are fitting a lintel into an existing wall, read how a steel lintel is installed in an existing brick wall first.
Send your opening sizes or drawings for a quote, or see the steel products we fabricate, including lintels, beams, plates and posts.
Frequently asked questions
What size steel lintel do I need for brick veneer in Ontario?
For 90 mm brick veneer, the 2024 Ontario Building Code lists an L89 × 89 × 6.4 angle for spans up to 2.47 m, an L102 × 89 × 6.4 up to 2.66 m and an L127 × 89 × 7.9 up to 3.31 m, with larger angles beyond that. Your designer confirms the size for your opening.
How much bearing does a steel lintel need under the OBC?
Steel lintels sized from the Ontario Building Code tables need at least 150 mm of bearing at each end, with even and level bearing on masonry, concrete or steel.
Which OBC table covers steel lintels?
In the 2024 Ontario Building Code, Article 9.20.5.2. covers lintels. Table 9.20.5.2.-A covers loose steel lintels in masonry walls, Table 9.20.5.2.-B covers angle lintels supporting masonry veneer, and Table 9.20.5.2.-C covers steel beams supporting veneer and a wood stud wall.
Do steel lintels need to be painted or galvanized?
The Ontario Building Code requires steel angle lintels supporting masonry to be prime painted or otherwise protected from corrosion. Galvanizing is one way to meet that and is common where moisture is a concern.
