Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [beam]

269 questions
17
votes
5 answers

Is it safe to screw into a single support beam holding up an entire house?

I have a (roughly 40 year old) house with a crawlspace, and then an upstairs above it - I believe this considered a 1.5 storey house. The upstairs is being held up by a long wooden support beam, and that beam is being held up by a metal pole but…
Smith99
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16
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5 answers

Contractor cut joist hangers to make them fit

(edited with additional info re. header) We are removing a couple of load bearing walls as part of renos in our home. The engineer specified a W8x21steel beam to replace the load bearing wall. The floor joists are 2x10. It appears the contractor…
user105375
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15
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2 answers

Is it safe to remove old rusty nails from a wooden beam?

During the renovation of our old house I uncovered a load-bearing beam which has a lot of old rusty nails just sticking out of it. By "a lot" I mean that there are around 50 nails in random places on a 2.5 meter long beam. Should I pull these nails…
Andor Polgar
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14
votes
3 answers

Why did they hammer nails in half way and bent them over to secure supports?

In my 1950s house they hammered nails in half way and bent them over to secure the supports to the beam. Why was this technique used?
Jay Prall
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13
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4 answers

Why mate two boards instead of using one thicker board?

I need to build a footbridge across a creek and, due to soft and low land around it, will need a long span crossing the creek. I found this tutorial by Ron Hazelton where he makes a bridge with a 12' span with two beams supporting it, with supports…
Tango
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11
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2 answers

Do ceiling joists need to rest on cross beams?

I am having a new home built by a national builder. They are framing now I see that ceiling joists in one area are not resting on a beam that divides two open rooms. See the photo. The beam that runs in from the left side separates two open rooms.…
AngerClown
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7
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4 answers

Support Beam Splitting

I bought an older house (1917) that had renovations done in 2009. I was in the basement earlier today with the oil delivery man and I noticed some of the support beams splitting. The inspector never said anything about the support beams so it may be…
user44111
6
votes
2 answers

Cannot figure out how to drywall basement wall underneath steel beam!

As you can see in the picture there is about a 3/8” offset from my beam to the studs. I would just shim it to cover that gap but the doors are framed for 1/2 drywall and the other side of this wall is finished. Not sure what to do to have a clean…
Caleb S
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6
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2 answers

Holes drilled in parallam beam: is this a structural problem?

The electrician drilled 3/4” holes on PSL parallam beams. Both beams are is 4”x12”. The first beam measures 13’ft long and the holes are about 3’ft away from the end. The second beam measures 23’ft and the holes are about 5’ft away from the end.…
Luis Contreras
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5
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1 answer

Where can I find information on making footbridges with a long span?

I have a creek I need to cross with a footbridge. While the creek is only about 3' wide, the main span of the bridge will have to be somewhere between 14-17' feet long, due to low, wet, and loose ground around it. I also have to deal with wetlands…
Tango
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5
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3 answers

How can I attach pony wall to surface of platform and will it be strong enough against lateral forces?

I have a loft area to which I want to add a pony wall for safety. My plan is to drywall its inside and outside faces, all the way down across the beam. Can I built it on the surface of the platform safely? I would prefer to avoid attaching the posts…
Steven
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5
votes
1 answer

Can I replace a 4x6 for a swing with a 4x4 sandwiched with a 2x4?

I'm currently building a swing with 4x4 posts based on a basic design I saw online. For the beam, my area does not carry 4x6 in any big box stores or lumber yards and no one knows why and cannot order them either. I really tried. So my question…
Karras
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5
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1 answer

Is a 6" Hole through a 10" Rim Joist ok?

I've got a question about venting through the rim joist. I'm building out my basement workshop and I'm going to install an exhaust fan. The exhaust fan needs an exhaust pipe. The most direct route is through the rim joist and out to the exterior.…
Jacob Wicks
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5
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6 answers

Elegant way to jack two materials apart, applying spreading pressure to pin them in place?

I have a tall cabinet acting as a room divider. Since it's not against a wall, it could fall. Screwing into the floor or the wall is not feasible, but the top of the cabinet is 5 inches from a concrete beam. If I could apply "reverse clamping"…
zx81
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5
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8 answers

Rust at welded steel beam joint

My house has a 20 ft long steel beam running across the entry way with two i-beams for supports. The supports are welded to a base plate at the ground. The joints have quite a bit of rust on them. I've used a medium wire brush to scrape some of it…
T R
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