bi fold patio doors support...?

[nickffc]

HI All

New to the forum but been reading for some time.... been a wealth of knowledge...

anyway i have a question... I'm about to embark on a project to revamp the lounge and want to install a very long set of bi fold patio doors... probably going to be about 4.5 m wide. i live in a bungalow and the doors will be installed into the gable end of the house so i will need to support the gable end above the doors. being quite a large span what would be the method of doing this....? its a cavity wall and would be nice to be able retain the brick face to outside.
any ideas greatly appreciated

cheers

Nick

 

[handyman77]

I think you will need a structural engineer to advise.

 

[^woody^]

If you can get a standard heavy duty lintel of that length then you can use one of those

Otherwise you will need a steel beam on the internal skin, with a plate welded to the front to support the external skin

 

[nickffc]

yeah i thought as much about the engineer....

any idea what the type of rsj would be called that has a plate added to it for the outside wall...?

many thanks

nick

 

[^woody^]

It's called a "beam with a plate welded to the front".

A structural engineer or other competent person will need to design it, and he may call it something else

 

[nickffc]

how funny....

 

[^woody^]

It's a funny old business

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Nobody's being funny, its a UB with a shelf angle, you cannot buy them off the shelf, any engineer will know what you are talking about.

Untitled

• freddiemercurystwin
• 6 Aug 2010
• 4

 

[nickffc]

nice.... thanks for that... so i see from the drawing this steel is for a flat roof,
i presume the plate that is welded to the beam maybe configured slightly different to take the weight of my gable end..... ?

thanks for your time...

Nick

 

[nickffc]

questions questions.....

seeing this is going to be a very long RSJ... is it usually acceptable to say have the beam in a few parts....? two beams bolted together with fish plates and also the shelf plate bolted to the beam...?

it's just the size of this thing is going to be stupidly heavy to get to the back of my house and awkward to lift into position as it will have to be maneuvered from the inside so not to disturb the outer brickwork...

nick

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

It doesn't matter whether its a gable end or flat roof, the beam supports the inner skin, the shelf supports the outer skin, simples. I doubt you will be able to have it in 2 halves, not impossible but will cost and besides you are gonna have to lift it into position anyway.

 

[theoldun]

Nobody's being funny, its a UB with a shelf angle, you cannot buy them off the shelf, any engineer will know what you are talking about.
8)

Not quite right Freddy mate. Both Catnic and IG stock prefabricated UBs with 10mm welded bottom plate Catnic are CXL. IG are L6. Both can be obtained for any size cavity and both go up to 6600 long. Both companies will supply calculations.

Op, Beam will weigh in at about 43kg lin metre which is no great hardship for two men to move and lift in place with genie lift.
regards oldun

Soon be hot tub time Fred.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Nobody's being funny, its a UB with a shelf angle, you cannot buy them off the shelf, any engineer will know what you are talking about.
8)

Not quite right Freddy mate. Both Catnic and IG stock prefabricated UBs with 10mm welded bottom plate Catnic are CXL. IG are L6. Both can be obtained for any size cavity and both go up to 6600 long. Both companies will supply calculations.

Op, Beam will weigh in at about 43kg lin metre which is no great hardship for two men to move and lift in place with genie lift.
regards oldun

Soon be hot tub time Fred.

And if you can get a man from Catinc to say it'll be OK with a 4.5m folding slider hanging off it I'll eat my leotard!

 

[nickffc]

Whys that Freddy...?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

The techys at Catnic will spec a lintel for you in only a standard situation, hanging a bi-fold off a lintel is not standard in the eyes of your average Catnic or IG techy.