steel frame calculations
- Thread starter pully7
- Start date
Depends.
I guess a lot relies on the person requesting the quote to provide the information accurately. You would need a certain knowledge in order to do this.
The bigger downside however is the liability factor. You would also need to consider whether Building Control will accept them.
Personally, I would not go anywhere near it.
Aye online calculations are cheap for a reason.
There are firms out there that will do your calcs at £50 - or whatever - per beam.
There are a number of problems with this. The first is that to design a beam, you have to know the loads it will carry. This is not easy for a lay person to work out, and if you supply incorrect information,you will get an incorrect beam.
The second problem is that there is more to structural safety than just giving a beam size. When removing a wall, you inevitably increase the loading on the structure around it, and how does anyone know without seeing it if that structure will be sufficient to carry an increased load?
Finally, there is often the question of lateral stability of the house. If you take out the rear wall, for example, how will you stiffen the house to compensate?
All these are questions which cannot be answered by putting numbers in, or clicking on, boxes on your screen.
There are a number of problems with this. The first is that to design a beam, you have to know the loads it will carry. This is not easy for a lay person to work out, and if you supply incorrect information,you will get an incorrect beam.
The second problem is that there is more to structural safety than just giving a beam size. When removing a wall, you inevitably increase the loading on the structure around it, and how does anyone know without seeing it if that structure will be sufficient to carry an increased load?
Finally, there is often the question of lateral stability of the house. If you take out the rear wall, for example, how will you stiffen the house to compensate?
All these are questions which cannot be answered by putting numbers in, or clicking on, boxes on your screen.
the steel beam supplier will often do basic calculations for you
They would not be covered by a structural engineer's liability insurance but BCO often accept them.
They would not be covered by a structural engineer's liability insurance but BCO often accept them.
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