[Shop-talk] looking for wooden beam suggestions

[Brian Kemp]

Pat - I just bought 35 LVLs for a cantilevered balcony repair and 
learned that it past to call around.  My first quote was $2500 plus 
delivery in 7-10 days.  I ended getting them for $1400 delivered in 2 
days.   I am in the Los Angeles area, so had a number of choices.

There are different specs.  The balcony beams were all 2.0E versions of 
a 2x8.  A header reinforcement was a 25' long 1.3E 2x12.  The products I 
used are at
http://roseburg.com/cgi-bin/s-mart.pl?command=showcatsub&sub=180_10
(LVLs, not I-joists)  Good quality and easy to work with.  I used 3" SDS 
screws staggered every 8 inches per the engineer.

Click the literature link on the right side of the page and you can look 
more details.

I also paid for 2 hours of structural engineering time for my initial 
comfort, but since I also pulled a permit with the city, I had to do it 
anyway.  It might be worth an hour to get a proper calculation by a 
professional.  That way you know you are doing it right.

Brian


On 6/15/2012 8:01 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.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Peace,
> Pat