Post and beam fixing

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I'm removing a wall and replacing with an oak post and beam. First floor, directly supporting half a dozen rafters.
Post and beam sizes checked by SE.
His advice for fixing the bottom of the post was to take down a couple of courses of brickwork (rat trap bond, internal wall that was external in the dim distant past) , install a pad stone below floor level and sit the post on that secured by angle brackets screwed to post and pad stone. Fixing nicely hidden.

Having started investigations whilst timber is ordered I find that just my luck there is the end of a floor joist (2" wide) under where the post will land on the wall so I can't just drop a pad stone down below floor board level.

I can build up around the joist with a couple of courses of engineering bricks, but what would be best to bridge over the joist that I could fix the post base to and would not be ugly to look at. Or look out of place at the bottom of an oak post.

EDIT: Post 150mm square.
 
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How deep is the subfloor beneath the joist? Can you put blocks under the joist then trim the end of it out of the way of your padstone?
EDIT Oops, if your post base is at first floor level thats not going to work. Boo
 
How deep is the subfloor beneath the joist? Can you put blocks under the joist then trim the end of it out of the way of your padstone?

Thanks, but it's on the first floor, so unless I build a pillar in the living room that's not an option ;)
 
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Just came across spreader plates. Any reason a 15mm (300x200 or so) plate sat on engineering bricks built up around the joist end could not be used?
It would be low enough profile to be at floor level.
 
Not without doing extensive damage to the ceiling and wall of the room below.
 
Any reason a 15mm (300x200 or so) plate sat on engineering bricks built up around the joist end could not be used?
It would be low enough profile to be at floor level.

I reckon that's a question for your SE, as surely the BCO will want to know the SE has signed off on it?
 
I think your spreader plate would be fine but def run it past your SE first. He may come up with some other cunning plan if you're lucky.
TBH you'd probably be OK with engineering brick spanning the joist (with some slate shimming so the timber supported the brick- not gonna be fastgrown softwood is it) :)
 
I reckon that's a question for your SE, as surely the BCO will want to know the SE has signed off on it?

I think your spreader plate would be fine but def run it past your SE first. He may come up with some other cunning plan if you're lucky.
TBH you'd probably be OK with engineering brick spanning the joist (with some slate shimming so the timber supported the brick- not gonna be fastgrown softwood is it) :)

SE is away for a week and I want to get moving, or at the very least have some workable ideas to present to him. Thought I would ask here to save wasting his time with totally unworkable solutions.

For instance I could move the post sideways (towards the centre of the beam) and drop down into the space between 2 joists. This would mean the beam (100wx200d) would project past the post by around 250mm. Would that still be okay to support the rafter (slate pitched roof) resting on it, or would it just snap at the post and the SE laugh at the suggestion :eek:
 
Last edited:
Just to provide an answer that might be of use to future 'searchers'.
SE says moving post and having a short (300mm) cantilevered end would not be a problem, so that's probably the route I shall take.
 
Just for completeness, oak is now in and the roof is still up, props came out a few weeks ago . Did it all myself in the end. Inspector is happy, so am I.

post4.jpg
 

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