Lintel Size & Material in Nepal: RCC Quantity Over Doors & Windows
How to estimate RCC lintel concrete and steel for Nepal house openings — bearings, quantity takeoff, and free lintel material calculator.
Key Takeaways
- Lintel length is clear span plus bearings on both sides — not only the door width.
- Concrete volume = count × L × B × D; steel comes from the bar schedule or a kg/m³ planning rate.
- This is budgeting maths, not structural design — drawings rule.
- Use the [lintel material calculator](/lintel-material-calculator) with door/window schedules.
Quick answer: lintel quantity for a residential house
Every door and window opening that is not under a continuous beam usually needs a lintel to carry the wall above. For RCC lintels, material takeoff multiplies how many lintels you have by their average length, width (often wall thickness), and depth (from the structural drawing). Steel is then either taken off bar by bar or approximated as kg of steel per cubic metre of concrete for early budgets.
Count openings from the door & window quantity calculator, then run concrete and steel on the lintel material calculator. For larger spans that are true beams, use the RCC beam material calculator instead.
Bearings, depth, and what not to guess
A common homeowner error is entering only the clear opening as length. The lintel sits on masonry or concrete at each end — those bearings add length and matter for quantity and for how the opening is framed. Depth and main bar sizes are structural decisions driven by span and load; copying a neighbour’s 150 mm depth without drawings is not engineering.
- L = clear opening + left bearing + right bearing
- B often matches wall thickness (e.g. half-brick or full brick)
- D and rebar from structural drawing / NBC-compliant design
- Formwork area is separate — use shuttering tools if needed
Linking to openings and finishes
Lintels land during the structure/masonry phase, before plaster. Budget them with other RCC line items in the phase budget calculator. After walls, openings drive gate and railing only where relevant — interior doors do not. Keep a simple schedule: opening ID, size, lintel L×B×D, bar mark.
FAQ
Can one continuous lintel band replace individual lintels?
Some designs use continuous bands or ring beams. Follow the structural system on your drawings — do not mix approaches casually.
What steel kg/m³ should I use for budget?
Only as a temporary planning figure if the bar schedule is not ready. Replace it with actual BBS weights before ordering steel.
Do AAC or brick openings need different lintels?
Support conditions and fixing details differ; the structural engineer specifies the lintel type for the wall system.
Is precast lintel quantity the same?
Length and count are similar; material rates differ. Enter precast unit cost instead of cast-in-situ concrete rates.