Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 26, 2010 8:50 am We thought it was a bit odd during our roof construction how the steel beams were put in - as our house approaches completion we thought we should check if this is normal or if we should bring it up with our SS. http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/xx278/sparkles2011/*******.jpg As you can see the beam is sitting on a brick and strapped down by a metal wire. Should we be concerned about this or is this standard practice? Is it safe/stable sitting there like that? Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 2Jun 26, 2010 8:59 am instead of asking on a forum. Why not get an independant engineer review your frame stage. Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 5Jun 26, 2010 9:10 am Just wondering why you have posted this under another user name twice? This thread then another by user "Sparkles"? But on topic surely if you are at PCI you should have brought up the issue a long time ago - like when you noticed it and took the photo? Why would you only raise it now? Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 6Jun 26, 2010 9:15 am Sparkleys is wifey - we had been discussing it this morning and I didn't realise she had already posted it. At the time we didn't think of it as an issue, just assumed it was normal. That's not actually a direct photo of the beam, we cut that out of a much larger photo, we didn't focus on that as being a problem. We have been discussing recently whether or not to get a building inspector along to our PCI. We're extremely happy with the work that has been done by our builder to date, so in our discussions we were trying to think of things that we weren't sure about to see if it would be worth getting an independant to come along to the inspection. If this is standard practice for fixing roof beams in WA then no problem, this is the only thing we could come up with that would be worth getting looked at so we won't worry about an inspector. If this doesn't seem normal, then we'll bring someone along. Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 8Jun 26, 2010 10:13 am Huggy_B walk around your estate and look at the other houses, I think you'll find they are all like that. There's none at that stage at the moment, but there's a couple of houses that had their wood delivered late this week, so we'll check them out next week when they start the work and see how they put the beams. Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 9Jun 26, 2010 10:28 am Eve Dweller instead of asking on a forum. Why not get an independant engineer review your frame stage. I actually think that this IS a really useful response. If anything, the unhelpful was your sarcastic response to Eva who actually made a highly valid suggestion. A report by an independent inspector holds a whole lot more weight than you or your wife saying "You know, we have no idea if this is right or not, but are you meant to be having structural beams held up by bricks and wire?". I'm really NOT being sarcastic here - it would be money very well spent. FWIW, even if that is normal, the strap holding it down looks very loose. I'm sure THAT isn't right. The beam should have no movement. What you need to consider really is if a few hundred for an independent inspector is worth it or if you'd prefer to take your chances that in harsh storms or not so harsh earth movement that beam may slip and take down half your house with it. A few hundred dollars for an inspector is peace of mind OR highly useful information to pass on to your builder to force them to fix it. Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 10Jun 26, 2010 8:57 pm It would be more helpful if you post the full size pic. I recently helped a family member do a reno recently and when we put up the steel beam, we braced it up with timber to the frame and trusses, with two engineered box tube supports on concrete pads. Besides, looking at the photo you posted, it still looks like they have to finish it off- which i'm sure that they will. If you want a job done properly... Do it yourself! Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 11Jun 26, 2010 10:25 pm If anyone did anything like that to my house I'd take them for a drive, and run the car off a cliff with them still strapped in it. That certainly is not the way a steel beam is to be supported. BUT, like someone said it may not be completed. There needs to either be a blockwork wall under it with a large diameter rod (around 20mm) bolted to the underside of the beam, that rod then needs to go into the bloc cavity from the top and then the blocks need to be filled with concrete from the footings or slab up. Or a steel column holding it up. I have never ever seen a beam held up like that. If it stays that way do what I said in my first sentence. My beams, steel column encased in blockwork: http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af106/NathanKlo/Renovations/DPPD_BLOCK7.jpg Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 12Jun 26, 2010 11:19 pm a beam is only as strong as the weakest link. The timber top plate places under the beam with take some compressive force. It would have been better if a masonary product was used as they are stronger in compression. Would be interested to see if they do anyting to this before finalising. Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 13Jun 27, 2010 11:12 pm Ours was done exactly like that... will try find a photo - not sure if I took any of it as I did read others on here (don't ask me who or where, it was months ago) had the same deal and were told it was 'okay'. Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 14Jun 29, 2010 1:18 pm Well, the strap above the steel beam is doing nothing. I would have it tightened so it helps stop the beam from tipping over. My main concern would be the brick tipping over. How is the other end of the beam secured? If the beam is prevented from moving along it's axis I would be reasonably happy about the brick. One thing I would do, just before the seven year strucutral guarantee expires, is pop up in the roof and take a picture. If there is any sign of cracking I would get the builder to rectify. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 15Jun 29, 2010 1:28 pm That's pretty standard building practice in WA. The steel is used to span large open plan areas and the hangers and props can be supported off it. It's hard to tell from the photo but usually the beam is being held from moving by ceiling joist and hangers. If that beam can ever get to the point of moving off that brick you have far bigger issues with your house. People need to realise that double brick construction techniques in WA are very different from brick veneer construction. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 16Jun 30, 2010 8:52 am Thanks for the replies all. Have taken a look around some other houses that still have their roof frames exposed and they look pretty much identical as far as the steel beam structures go so we're pretty happy that we don't have an issue to be concerned about. Given we've been on-site every day of construction we already have a list (very small one at that) of problems that we want the builder to address - some of them we'll bring to their attention but probably not get addressed since they are cosmetic and would just drag out the handover process (like a powerpoint being put in the wrong place in the bathroom for example) - so we're not going to worry about the extra expense of an inspector. Internal site clean happened on Monday - Paving bricks were delivered yesterday and the frame for the garage door was installed, so only the laying of the pavers and carpet and the installation of the actual garage door and we're done! Hoorah! Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 17Jun 30, 2010 8:37 pm For those of you who have said they have been done the same on their houses are u guys positive a compressable material like timber was used as a spacer under an area of point force??? Note that the two different pictures posted are actually totally different structially. Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 18Jun 30, 2010 9:00 pm The compressible material (wall plate) is the same material the rest of the roof is sitting on. No one worries that their hangers or props are going to somehow crush the wall plate. the compressive strength of that wall plate is incredible. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 19Jun 30, 2010 9:20 pm chippy i realise what your saying however this is different. In terms of a normal roof there is only a small amount of force and it is evenly distributed. In this case there is a beam carrying a large load then all this weight is sitting on a small area. It is actually quite different from an engineering point of view. It is a point source of pressure compared to something evenly distributed. Re: Is this how roof beams are supposed to be supported? 20Jun 30, 2010 9:58 pm borg chippy i realise what your saying however this is different. In terms of a normal roof there is only a small amount of force and it is evenly distributed. In this case there is a beam carrying a large load then all this weight is sitting on a small area. It is actually quite different from an engineering point of view. It is a point source of pressure compared to something evenly distributed. Maybe you should come to WA and tell all the builders they are doing it wrong. THanks , l got a licensed building inspector to look at the rust, he said its just surface rust and it would take many years to become a problem because the beams are so… 22 28084 if l cannot get a sandblaster would a sander with sandpaper be better then a wire brush 4 7350 |