Using RSJ's to form a 'goal post'.

[moguk]

Has anyone used a 'goal post' arrangement of RSJ's to support a wall when creating a 'large' opening?
- is this acceptable practice?

I have two doors on the back wall of the house with brickwork in between.
Rather than 'hacking' away the internal plasterwork and external render to remove the existing door lintels I was thinking of removing the doors and the brickwork in between (suitably supporting the overhead brickwork) then inserting an RSJ lintel (Catnic CXL Cavity wall lintel) cut to the same length as the opening, and supporting this lintel at either end using RSJ's vertically positioned like below -

Has anyone done this?

Would this configuration be a problem for a structural engineer to calculate sizes?

 

[mikeey84]

This is a standard arrangement in this situation, and one that your engineer would probably specify if required.

If it isn't required, it would cause no issues, apart from the increase in cost

 

[tony1851]

Why would you want two steel posts supporting the beam? Not only would this involve more steel and fabrication costs, you would need to install
pad foundations for the columns.
Why not just set the beam into the wall?

 

[^woody^]

What is this voodoo?

 

[tony1851]

What is this voodoo?

Eh...?

 

[moguk]

Why would you want two steel posts supporting the beam? Not only would this involve more steel and fabrication costs, you would need to install
pad foundations for the columns.
Why not just set the beam into the wall?

Actually it is cheaper.
I have a fabricator who has quoted me to fabricate a lintel and supply the other metalwork with welded joining plates etc at half of what it would cost to buy a similar sized lintel on its own from someone like Catnic.

The reason I don't want to go the 'normal lintel replacement' route is that there is a conservatory outside the existing doors and I would have to take the roof off it to get the existing lintels out. Also, the extent to which the lintels are 'bedded' into the walls would mean taking the conservatory side walls off too as the lintels extend beyond them. A lot more work than putting in 'pads'.

Using a fabricated lintel made similar to a Catnic CXL means I only have to take the internal blockwork away leaving the existing external blocks/render where the conservatory is intact.

I didn't understand the voodoo comment either ??

 

[Lower]

Don't underestimate the cost and expense of forming the foundations for the steel uprights.

i suspect the Voodoo comment was based around doing something a different way to the norm....

 

[moguk]

Don't underestimate the cost and expense of forming the foundations for the steel uprights.

i suspect the Voodoo comment was based around doing something a different way to the norm....

As there are concrete foundations in place (new build) I am told that it will only require digging out below the steel position to dpc level, lay in concrete padstones, place the steel on the padstones (with a suitable plate having been welded to the bottom of the steel) then add concrete to ground level to fix the steel in place.

Have I been mislead?