The positioning of steel reinforcement should be as per the Thermacell Residential Engineering Design Manual.

Usually, the steel required for a Thermacell house is one Y-12 reinforcing bar on either side of each window and doorway on the external walls. A Y-12 bar is set in the walls above the windows to create a lintel.

For windows wider than 2 metres, a Y-16 bar may be used. For very wide windows or openings, additional engineering may be required at your expense.

A Y-12 bar is usually placed continuously around the top course of external walls, which creates a bond beam.

No reinforcement is required in internal walls where trusses are used, as they are non-load bearing.

In the case of double garage door openings (approx. 5m span) we recommend the use of two courses (600mm) of 200mm or 250mm blocks or 1 course of the 200mm blocks plus a 150mm lintel block.

The steel reinforcement required would be two Y-16 bars at the bottom of the beam and two Y-16s at the top, connected by 6mm ligatures every 250mm. The Y-16 bars should exceed the doorway by at least 500mm on either side.

An engineer’s certificate for all reinforcement may be required with your plans.