Francis Martínez Ángel Morales

1. University Simón Bolívar English 2 Post and Lintel Francis Martínez Ángel Morales

2. Topics • Introduction • What are Post and Lintel? • Material • Adventages • Disadvantages • Examples • Conclutions

3. Introduction Post and lintel, or in contemporary usage Post and beam, is a simple construction method using a lintel, header, or architrave as the horizontal member over a building void supported at its ends by two vertical columns, pillars, or posts. This architectural system and building method has been commonly used for centuries to support the weight of the structure located above the openings created by windows and doors in a bearing wall.

4. What are Post and Lintel ? Post-and-lintel, in construction, is a system in which two upright members, the posts, hold up a third member, the lintel, laid horizontally across their top surfaces. All structural openings have evolved from this system, which is seen in pure form only in colonnades and in framed structures, because the posts of doors, windows, ceilings, and roofs normally form part of the wall. It supports a large amount of weight Designed primarily to hold weight, such as a roof or deck, depending on the vertical posts it rests on. It can support a huge amount of weight, and is effective for reinforcing tall buildings or heavy structures. The post supports the lintel and its loads without crushing or buckling, so it refers to the vertical support.

5. Material The lintel must bear loads that rest on it as well as its own load without deforming or breaking. Brick or stone, weak in tensile strength (inelastic and brittle), can provide only a short lintel; steel can be used for long lintels. Masonry lintels, depending on the cohesiveness of mortar, are especially weak; therefore, in masonry construction, lintels of monolithic (single slab) stone, wood, and stronger materials are used The posts must support the lintel and its loads without crushing or buckling. Post material must be especially strong in compression. Stone has this property and is more versatile in its use as a post than as a lintel. Under heavy loads, stone is superior to wood but not to iron, steel, or reinforced concrete. Masonry posts, including those of brick, may be highly efficient, because loads compress the joints and add to their cohesiveness.

6. Advantages Post-and-lintel is the simplest of structural systems. -Homes constructed with a post and lintel construction method can usually be assembled quicker that other types of construction. -This construction method is considered more energy efficient than houses constructed using alternative methods because it is easier to insulate the home. -Homes that are constructed using post and lintel methods have larger interior living spaces than houses constructed using alternative methods

7. Disadvantages • The greatest disadvantages of post-and-lintel construction is the limited weight that can be supported and the small distances required between the posts, like the Greek Parthenon. Also, this type of construction is not nearly as common as platform construction. • Moreover, Roman developments of the arch allowed for much larger structures to be constructed. • In modern construction, post and lintel construction can be seen during the framing of a house.

8. Examples Stonehenge Early Empire Maison Carree

9. Examples Arch of Titus Temple of Karnack

10. Conclusions Post and lintel is a system that has been used since antiquity for the creation of different edifications as a support for maintaining and forming the skeleton of the buildings, and over time has evolved over the materials that can be used for helping to make the diversity

11. Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_and_lintel http://www.ehow.com/about_5066026_advantages-post-lintel-construction.html http://www.thepostandlintel.com/