beams

In our old workers cottage, we've got a beam in the living room with cutouts that have been filled with wooden blocks. On the same side of the beam under the floor upstairs, cutouts are present but have not been filled with blocks. Has this beam had a previous life in another building...

I am trying to remove white paint from wooden beams (sanding and paint stripper) but there are so many cracks in the wood that I just can't get the paint out of. Any ideas? I could use epoxy but I think I would end up filling a large amount of the beam as it is covered in cracks. Could I...

Hi all, Looking for some help/advice re: if I can move some beams in a single skim brick garage pitched roofup to give more height in room. The room is 4x2.5m and is in good quality. As it's a fairly small room i dont want a flat root (even though it passes building regs re: height after...

I have the spec of my padstones from my SE - but he has gone AWOL and I am unable to clarify with him what exactly he means. This is a single RSJ, with top plate, that will be supporting an old, standard brick cavity wall (approx. 300mm wide). The structural calcs refer to "Padstone 1 & 2" -...

Hi, first post here. We bought a home just two weeks before the pandemic kicked off... about 2 months later we noticed the living room floor can wobble. We viewed the house three times and visited for measurements many times after, we didn’t notice the floor shift once! There was nothing in the...

Hi all, I'm planning on surrounding my landing with a stud wall (replacing what was a banister). If I were to build straight off the existing outer joist (below where the previous banister sat), I would not meet the 900mm minimum width required for building regs. The width of that section of...

Without getting into complex engineering calculations, how can I make a reasonable assessment of the max compression load for an approx 2 M length of mild steel single angle 7mm thick and 80 mm each side. I would like to use it as a mid span "post" to give additional support to what appears to...

I`m going to remove an internal partition between my extension and need to stick a 152x89 beam to help support the flat joist roof. Engineers confirmed that 152x89 is more than enough. Do I need some sort of spreading plate or grout? How do I install it? when the beam is in place how I will...

Hi Experts, I need some guidance on covering an external beam which builders have installed for rear bifolds. The beam is 305x305 in the external cavity wall as shown in the attached pic. The beam is above the ceiling level of ground floor. The architect suggested that there should be a brick...

Hi all, I am new to DIY and am looking for advice for knocking out a bricked up wall that is part of a poured basement foundation to put in a small 6x7' garage door. My main concern is what to do regarding a beam since this is a load bearing wall to the exterior. Am I safe to create an 8" wide...

Our builder is on site for our loft conversion. He has laid a heavy long beam but one support is on the edge of the brick wall of the garden elevation and the metal spreader under the beam extends to the top of our first floor small bathroom window. The builder reckons its okay but I am unsure -...

hi guys,with all this wind lately one of the mock Tudor beams has become lose at the top front of my house,it is not dangerous but it vibrates in strong winds and can be heard and felt throughout the house.i have looked to fix it but not sure how as it seems the beams have been fitted using...

This is my first post...take it easy on me. We are about 30% into our build and up to ground floor level above basement. There has been discussion between Architect, Builder and Structural Engineer over the concrete beams that have been used which are 220mm as opposed to 150mm initially...

I thought that RSJs came with pre-drilled holes, but on our RSJ there appear to be 8 holes drilled instead of the 4 expected. Is this right? And should there be any documents/notes/calculations to back it up? 2016-08-27 19.18.18 by r_c posted 27 Aug 2016 at 8:04 PM

I'm a real amateur in terms of building and construction. The last two houses I owned (current and previous) have had cavernous lofts. That is to say you go through the hatch and can walk freely end to end. First house was a 1960s brick build 2-up-2-down typical 60s british...

Hi guys, Im hoping someone here can help. I am in the middle of a building project converting my current house into flats. I've employed an architect to do the complete design of the flats. However, his measurements have consistently been incorrect, which in turn has led to the structural...

Hi, so i am pricing up a job so i know roughly what it will cost and i've used this document http://www.mendip.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=1666&p=0 which gives beam size and padstone required for typical applications. The trouble is every builders merchant i've rung only does a 440x215x102...

Hello, I am new to this forum and hope to find some interaction and help here. Here is my project: My wife and I are going to be building a cordwood shop (with an upstairs apartment) this coming spring in Montana. I have a building and carpentry background, but have never built a structure this...