Are steel lintels above garage doors load bearing?

Question

There are gaps between my lintel and the brick veneer above, and I fail to see how the brick is suspended. I worry that one day I'll be walking into my garage, and I'll hear a rumbling sound, and then I'll have to run away like a baby deer from the crashing bricks.

Someone told me that they have no true function after serving their purpose as a platform at brick-lay time.

Answer 1

Their main initial purpose is to hold the brick in place when the brick is layed. After the mortar dries and provides support, the steel still helps hold the brick but the mortar does a fair amount of the work. I would have the gaps filled in however but it is not the type of thing that will likely result in a collapse in the next few weeks.

Answer 2

They are only load bearing to the point of whatever is sitting ontop of them. IE bricks etc, not the roof unless they are in a side wall, then they are structurally load bearing.