Recent content by designinsteel

Magnificent! Thanks for sharing

Planning isn't my area of expertise, but I have observed that my clients generally think planning is a bigger deal than it really is, so I would just go for it.

The joists might actually be fine in terms of strength. The structural codes say you can expect 14mm of deflection at midspan, or 0.03 x span, which is 13.5mm. But it would be unusual for them to deflect fully like this without a serious amount of loading. Perhaps the wall has a support post...

The EN number is the Eurocode spec that this feature is tested against. "NPD" means "No product data", so I believe it means it hasn't been certified for this.

Building control will probably defer to the NHBC guidance if you show them the following: Freeze/thaw and sulfate attack Concrete blocks used in the outer leaf without protective cladding or render should: have a compressive strength >7.3N/mm2 or have a density of at least 1,500kg/m3 be made...

Yes, it is structural and holding your stair up.

I had a little disagreement with a fencing fitter, who insists all concrete posts are the same size, apart from length. He installed concrete posts, 130mm wide, with 60mm grooves, and used 45mm gravel boards and 45mm fence panels. These rattle something chronic as there's about 10-15mm of play...

I was reading this and saw that there was no answer to why a structural engineer specifies PFCs, and how they should be connected. How they connect is critical so I want to clear it up in case others read what has been advised. I'm not saying what you guys are saying is wrong, but you need to...

Thanks Tony. This thread comes up when searching and also gets recommended from other threads. There's pobabably a 100:1 ratio of readers to posters. Hope that clarifies?

It's not particularly clear to the uninitiated -- the PFC is the spacer between the beams. So it's basically some stubs about 200mm long, spaced along the beam.

It depends whether you place them with 140mm as the height or with 100mm as the height. The it's whether the 1800mm is the length or the clear width of the opening. Also the different lintel manufacturers make them to different strengths, which depends on what steel reinforcement they are using...

I sometimes wonder how many home owners are sold planning drawings and don't realise they need another set of drawings to build from. I often get shown planning drawings when quoting for steel beam designs, or even when visiting sites where building is underway. Perhaps this is just to save...

Lintels are made to have a quantity of masonry over the top to spread the load. For a single storey flat roof that is generally not the case. Secondly, and this is why I mentioned it, lintel manufacturers won't tell you how much it will deflect, so you could end up with problems with binding on...

If you want some guidance on working out loads and calculating a steel beam size, I've put up a four part tutorial on youtube. I do steel beam calculations all the time, and have worked out what I think is one of the easiest methods for working out a preliminary steel size. You will still need...

If you go with a simple raft, then you have a foundation and floor slab all in one. Very simple, as others have said. 150mm thick concrete, 150mm compacted hardcore underneith, some light mesh, four planks of timber to act as a shutter. A full raft is unnecessary.