Recent content by b00gieman

Thanks Wayners. What screws would you recommend? Something like these? https://www.screwfix.com/p/timberfix-hex-socket-structural-timber-screws-6-3-x-65mm-50-pack/48621 The problem I have (which you can see in the photo) is that the purlin on the far side is right beside the one on the...

I've messaged him but haven't had a response. Might be on holiday.

I'm renovating an old stone cottage and on the first floor I have removed the ceiling joists and am going to fit a half collar ceiling. There are 2 purlins, one at the bottom and one at the mid point of the rafters. I have consulted a structural engineer and to do this they recommended steel...

Just to follow up on this, I dug a hole over double the size of a block on its face and went down about a meter, surprisingly to the same depth as the wall foundations. Filled this with concrete, covered with dpc and built the pier on top up to the beam, tieing into the wall along the way. I...

Thanks, thats really helpful. When you say load bearing ground, what am I looking for?

The structural engineer said the steel should extend over the supports for shear. Thats why I pushed them into the pocket on one side and will build a column on the other. I've attached a picture of the beam with the steel attached. I've also attached a picture of the wall with the hairline...

Thanks. I'm intending to take up the concrete there and put in a new footing but of what? Should I dig out an area a few sizes larger than the block to a depth of 0.5m and fill with concrete and start on that or would it need to be deeper or larger? Sorry, I'm comfortable making concrete but I...

I don't think there is much of a foundation under this wall and the main origional house but its been standing for 250+ years and hope it will for another 250 :) According to an agricultural map the ground is "slowly permeable seasonally wet slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey soils"...

I bought an old sandstone cottage built around 1750 that has rear and side extensions, probably built in the 1940s/50s. Its been one fun find after another, from rotten timber lintels to no lintels to having to replace the whole first floor joists after finding they are undersized (3" x 3") with...

I have found a concrete lintel supplier close to me (Naylor) and they state that the Unfactored Load (kN/m) for their Economy 140x100x2100 lintel is 4.81kN/m and for their Hi-Spec 100x100x2100 lintel is 5.02kN/m. I just need to work out if 4.81kN/m is strong enough. If the opening is 1.6m...

Can you recommend any sites for learning about calculating loads and lintel sizes? Wondering if a high strength 100 X 100 would do on one side and 140x100 standard on the other. This would save me notching into the joists which I know isn't allowed or having the internal lintel cover the top of...

I caught a look at the lintel before it went in and the sticker said it was prestressed. It is bowing in the middle and a hairline crack has appeared in one of them. The joists are supporting the floor above. The thermalite bricks were put in by me, not for support but for filling the space...

Thanks Woody. I had a builder come round to quote and he said he would fit 140 X 100mm concrete lintels but yesterday when he did the job he fitted 65 X 100mm. These look a little small to me but he assured me they would be fine. The openings are about 160cm on both windows. Is this right?

I am replacing two windows in a victorian house from wooden sash windows to PVC windows. The windows are on opposite sides of the house with a stone outer lintel and wooden internal lintel - solid walls with no cavity. Both stone lintels have recently been replaced. I imagine the internal...

TheVictorian, thanks for that. The paint link you sent looks good but very expensive, £60+ for 2.5L.. I imagine I will need 5L+ so will cost me much more than I was expecting :roll: