Prefabricated masonry lintels

A hollow prefabricated masonry lintel made at a fabrication site and configured for transportation to a build site comprising:

• a base row comprising:
• U-shaped blocks, each U-shaped block having a length extending between two ends, two side walls defining a width of each U-shaped block, and a U-shaped surface extending along the entire length between the two ends and symmetrically spanning a portion of the width, the U-shaped surface being a continuous solid surface, with no through-holes in the continuous solid surface, and having a bottommost point below a midpoint of a height of the sides wall to define a recess defined by the U-shaped surface, wherein the U-shaped blocks are laid end to end with adjacent ends adhered with mortar to form a continuous hollow horizontal cavity along a length of the base row formed of each recess of the U-shaped blocks;
• a slit formed in a top surface of each of the two side walls of the U-shaped blocks and extending continuously along at least a majority of the length of the base row, the slit having a width no larger than 20% of a width of the top surface;
• and
• provisional reinforcement fully embedded within the slit with a bonding material different from the mortar, such that the provisional reinforcement is flush with or below the top surface, a size of the slit and the provisional reinforcement configured to provide tensile strength during transportation of the hollow prefabricated masonry lintel from the fabrication site to the build site, the hollow prefabricated masonry lintel configured to be transported with the hollow horizontal cavity free of grout and reinforcement.