[Shop-talk] looking for wooden beam suggestions

[Peter J. Thomas]

On 6/15/2012 11:01 AM, Pat Horne wrote:
> List,
>
> I have an 8' roof overhang on my shop building that is starting to bow 
> from the load. It is supported by a 5-1/2"x3-1/2" wood beam across two 
> posts, 14' apart. The roof is standard 7/16 ply with one layer of 
> shingles on it; the framing is 2x4. The beam that is in there now is a 
> double 2x6 with a plywood filler to bring it out to 3-1/2". I can grab 
> the center of the beam and move it up and down over one inch. The 
> existing beam is standard yellow pine and is less than a year old. I 
> know the rule of thumb is 1/2" if beam height for every foot of span, 
> so this beam is too small for the 14' span.
>
> The problem is that I can't put in a taller beam because of other 
> clearances, so I will have to go to a different type of beam that will 
> still be 5-1/2" tall by 3-1/12" thick. I am considering an LVL 
> (laminated beam) - $100, steel Channel (8.5 lbs/ft.) - $230, but  I 
> would like to keep the price down.
>
> We are located in central Texas, so snow load is not a consideration. 
> We do get fairly high winds here, but nothing that has caused the 
> overhang to lift off or collapse.
>
> I have not been able to find any information on sandwiching a thin 
> piece of  steel between the 2x4's to stiffen it. Anyone have any 
> experience with this kind of beam? I figure that if the steel plate is 
> kept flat it should have pretty good resistance to bending.
>
> Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Ok, this won't pass any inspection but...

You could make a similar beam out of 2x8 (or 2x10) and notch around the 
clearance issues.  I'm assuming where it's sagging there aren't any 
clearance issues and this is where the beam needs to be the stiffest.

Peter T.