The main types of steel lintels are single angles, double angles, angles with a welded plate, structural tees, channels, HSS (tube) lintels with a plate, and W-beams with a plate. In an Ontario house, an unequal-leg angle carries the brick over almost every window and door. The other types appear when the opening gets wide, the wall gets thick or the lintel has to carry a floor, roof or point load as well as the masonry.
If you're new to the subject, start with what a steel lintel is and what it does. This post is about choosing between the shapes.
Steel lintel types at a glance
| Type | What it looks like | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Single angle | L-shape, one leg up, one leg under the brick | Window and door openings in brick or stone veneer |
| Double angles | Two angles, back to back or one on each face | Block walls and solid masonry walls |
| Angle with plate | Angle with a plate welded to the horizontal leg | Wider seat for masonry or a finished soffit |
| Structural tee | T-shape, stem up, flange as the seat | Masonry over openings where a symmetric seat suits the wall |
| Channel | C-shape, usually toes turned to suit the wall | Block walls, sometimes paired with a plate |
| HSS tube with plate | Rectangular tube with a plate welded underneath | Wider openings, loads off to one side, exposed lintels |
| W-beam with plate | Wide-flange beam with a plate welded to the bottom flange | Wide openings like garage doors and patio walls |
| Built-up section | Plates and shapes welded into a custom member | Unusual walls or heavy, engineered loads |
All of these are hot-rolled or fabricated sections, cut to length and finished in a shop. You may come across pressed-steel box and cavity lintels on UK sites; Ontario house drawings normally call for hot-rolled angles and beams sized from the building code or by a designer.
Angle lintels: the Ontario standard
Single angles are the workhorse. The vertical leg stands up behind the brick and gives the lintel its stiffness; the horizontal leg carries the bottom course. Angles for veneer are usually unequal-leg, with the long leg vertical, because depth is what controls bending and deflection.
The 2024 Ontario Building Code sizes these directly. Table 9.20.5.2.-B gives maximum spans for angle lintels carrying 70 mm brick, 90 mm brick and 100 mm stone, starting at an 89 x 76 x 6.4 angle for short spans in thin brick and going up to 178 x 102 angles for the widest openings the table covers. We walk through the table in steel lintel sizes under the Ontario Building Code, and whether an off-the-rack angle qualifies is covered in can you use angle iron as a lintel.
Double angles are used where the wall is thicker than one wythe. In solid masonry walls, Table 9.20.5.2.-A lists an exterior angle for the outer brick and interior angles, single or paired, for the rest of the wall, sized for any floor load the wall carries. A note to that table requires interior and exterior angles in certain wall thicknesses to be bolted together when the clear span is over 1,800 mm. In block walls, two angles are often set back to back to carry both faces of the block. See steel lintels in concrete block walls for block-specific details.
Angle with a plate. A plate welded along the horizontal leg widens the seat, which helps when the masonry unit is wider than the leg or when a clean soffit is wanted. It turns a stock angle into a small fabricated piece, so it has to be detailed and welded rather than just cut.
Tee and channel lintels
Structural tees are usually WT sections, made by splitting a wide-flange beam along its web, or tees built up from plate. The stem stands up inside the wall and the flange forms a seat on both sides of it. That symmetric seat suits a wall where the masonry sits evenly on either side of the stem, and the deeper stem gives more stiffness than an angle of similar weight. "Steel T lintel" searches often turn up UK products; in Ontario, a tee lintel is normally a WT or a welded tee called out by the designer.
Channel lintels are C-shapes, typically placed with the web horizontal or vertical to suit the wall and the bearing. They appear in block construction and in some commercial misc-metals packages, sometimes with a plate added to carry a facing. They are less common than angles in houses because an angle does the same job in veneer with less steel. Our C-channel load capacity post explains why channels twist under loads that don't pass through their shear centre, which matters when a channel carries masonry on one flange.
HSS tube lintels and W-beams with a plate
When an opening gets wide, an angle runs out of depth. The next step is a beam lintel: a section deep enough to span, with a plate added to carry the masonry.
HSS (tube) lintels. A rectangular hollow structural section is stiff, resists twisting well and looks tidy where the lintel is exposed. On its own it has no ledge for brick, so a plate is welded to the bottom to form one. Tube lintels suit openings where the load sits to one side of the member, and they are common in renovations where a clean exposed underside matters. Sizes are set by design; our HSS sizes chart shows what's available.
W-beam with a plate. For wide openings in brick-clad houses, such as double garage doors and large patio walls, the usual answer is a wide-flange beam with a plate welded to its bottom flange. The plate projects past the flange to carry the veneer, while the beam carries the wood wall, roof or floor above. The 2024 OBC covers one version directly: Sentence 9.20.5.2.(5) and Table 9.20.5.2.-C give spans for W150 and W200 beams carrying masonry veneer and a wood stud wall, and Sentence 9.20.5.2.(6) requires those beams to be supported at each end by a steel column and to have a minimum 6 mm plate welded to the flange to support the veneer. Where the beam also carries floor loads or larger roof loads, the table sends you to the steel beam rules for floors, and in practice to a designer.
More on these members in steel lintel vs beam and steel lintels over garage doors.
Lintels vs shelf angles and hung lintels
Two related members are often grouped with lintels but work differently:
- Shelf angle (relieving angle). An angle fastened along the slab edge or frame to carry brick veneer storey by storey on taller buildings. It isn't spanning an opening; it's carrying the wall continuously. "Steel lintel vs shelf angle" really comes down to how the member is supported: a lintel bears on the wall at its ends, a shelf angle is anchored to the structure.
- Hung (suspended) lintel. An angle or plate assembly hung from a beam above with rods or welded hangers, used where the jambs can't take the load or there's no room for end bearing.
Our loose steel lintels post compares loose lintels, hung lintels, shelf angles and beam lintels in more detail and explains how they appear on lintel schedules.
How the type gets chosen
The designer picks the type from a handful of facts:
- The span. Short openings take an angle from the code table. Wide ones need a beam lintel.
- What sits on it. Veneer only, a solid masonry wall, or masonry plus a floor, roof or post load.
- The wall build-up. Veneer over wood frame, block, cavity wall or solid brick. This sets how wide the seat has to be and whether one or two members are needed.
- Bearing. Lintels sized from the OBC tables need at least 150 mm of even, level bearing on masonry, concrete or steel at each end (Sentence 9.20.5.2.(3.1)). Beam lintels from Table 9.20.5.2.-C sit on steel columns instead.
- Exposure. Every steel angle lintel supporting masonry must be prime painted or otherwise protected from corrosion. Lintels in exterior walls and cavities are often galvanized; see do steel lintels rust.
If the opening is outside the code tables, carries a concentrated load, or is being cut into an existing wall, the type and size should come from a designer or engineer, and the work usually needs a building permit.
Ordering any type of steel lintel
We supply angle lintels for masonry openings, cut to length and punched or welded as needed, and we fabricate beam and tube lintels with welded plates to your drawings. Shop drawings are prepared in house, welding is CWB certified, and we can prime or galvanize to suit. Send your lintel schedule or a list of openings with spans, wall types and finish.
Request a lintel quote, or see our steel products.
Frequently asked questions
What are the different types of steel lintels?
The common types are single steel angles, double angles, angles with a welded plate, structural tees, channels, HSS (tube) lintels with a plate and W-beams with a plate. Angles cover most window and door openings in brick houses; the others are used for wider openings, thicker walls or heavier loads.
What is a steel lintel with a plate?
It is a beam or tube with a steel plate welded to its bottom flange that sticks out to carry a wythe of brick or stone. The 2024 Ontario Building Code calls for at least a 6 mm plate welded to the flange where a steel beam from its veneer table carries masonry veneer.
What is the difference between a steel lintel and a shelf angle?
A lintel spans one opening and bears on the wall at each end. A shelf angle is fastened to the building's structure, such as a slab edge or spandrel beam, and carries the brick along the wall whether there is an opening or not.
Can a steel tube be used as a lintel?
Yes. HSS tubes are used as lintels, usually with a plate welded underneath to carry the masonry, because a tube on its own has no ledge for the brick. Tubes resist twisting well, which helps when the load sits off to one side. The size and plate come from design.
