wooden lintel for garage

[volvocrazy]

hi guys.

I am looking at changing 2 ingle garage doors to 1 big sectional electric garage door. I would like to get rid of the centre brick pillar. At the moment it has a big wooden lintel running from one side of the garage to the other over the centre brick pillar. The wooden lintel is about inch thick by 10 inches high aprox.

Above is the roof joists running to it (the joists run length ways along the grage). Except for a tiled pitch roof and some storage, thats all that is above. No bedroom conversion etc.

If I were to double up the lintel, would this be ok for supporting the roof, and or need to run more joists across the width of the roof to help support the joists?

Hopefully a photo of the lintel over the doors wil come out!

Untitled

• volvocrazy
• 4 Jan 2014
• 1

Untitled

• volvocrazy
• 4 Jan 2014
• 1

 

[Blagard]

No it wouldn't do to just double up the timber.

You would be better to have some steel alongside. But first, just how much is the total span without a central pillar

 

[tony1851]

Too many unknowns.
But if you just double up the beam, you will quadruple the existing deflection (bend) in the beam (whatever that is at present) and you will double the stress in the timber (whatever that is at present).

 

[volvocrazy]

No it wouldn't do to just double up the timber.

You would be better to have some steel alongside. But first, just how much is the total span without a central pillar

If the pillar is taken away it will be a 16ft span.

 

[volvocrazy]

Too many unknowns.
But if you just double up the beam, you will quadruple the existing deflection (bend) in the beam (whatever that is at present) and you will double the stress in the timber (whatever that is at present).

How would I work out the stresses?

 

[wrightwoodwork]

It might be possible that by putting another timber on, or 2 and bolting them all together with timbetlock screws but I not a 100% sure. Another way would be to make a flinch beam where you have a steel plate 10mm sandwiched between two timbers and bolt it all together. The safest option would be to contact a truss manufacturer like pasquill or TRADA. Trada are the ones that give all the technical guidance to the timber engineers and kit manufacturers. All timbers will need to be c24

 

[tony1851]

How would I work out the stresses?

If you've not done that before, it would be time-consuming to learn, and it's not something that can be easily described on a forum.

But the maximum bending stress in the beam is unlikely to be the critical factor.What will probably be more significant for you will be the deflection.
Though not knowing the loading on the beam, my guess would be that you would find it would bend too much, even doubled up.

On a 16ft span, you would probaby be better with a steel beam, or at least incorporate some steel (in the form of a flat plate or angle) as the others have suggested.

 

[volvocrazy]

I have seen the metal sandwich style on grand designs and it looks good and probably easier to retro fit too.