Hello!
When the carpenters opened up the inner wall in our Ådals house, there were only particle boards, no studs. They considered the wall non-load-bearing. We then talked with another person who is a structural engineer who said the opposite, that the particle boards are indeed load-bearing. The house consists of glued particle boards as prefabricated elements. Above the inner wall, there is a floor structure supported by the inner wall and the exterior walls.
The carpenters still believed that the inner wall couldn't be load-bearing since it was only particle boards. Their compromise was to attach a glulam beam on the outside of the wall. It's just screwed into the wall, it doesn't rest on anything.
We now need advice from more knowledgeable people on whether this is sufficient? Or should we redo it in some other way?
As you understand, we are extremely unknowledgeable on the subject, so I apologize if it's not clearly written.
When the carpenters opened up the inner wall in our Ådals house, there were only particle boards, no studs. They considered the wall non-load-bearing. We then talked with another person who is a structural engineer who said the opposite, that the particle boards are indeed load-bearing. The house consists of glued particle boards as prefabricated elements. Above the inner wall, there is a floor structure supported by the inner wall and the exterior walls.
The carpenters still believed that the inner wall couldn't be load-bearing since it was only particle boards. Their compromise was to attach a glulam beam on the outside of the wall. It's just screwed into the wall, it doesn't rest on anything.
We now need advice from more knowledgeable people on whether this is sufficient? Or should we redo it in some other way?
As you understand, we are extremely unknowledgeable on the subject, so I apologize if it's not clearly written.
Welcome to the forum!
The carpenters' solution sounds very strange. Can't the structural engineer help you to find a good and safe solution?
That's what they are trained for, unlike carpenters.
The carpenters' solution sounds very strange. Can't the structural engineer help you to find a good and safe solution?
That's what they are trained for, unlike carpenters.