I've got the idea to open up a wall in my basement of a classic 50s house with a garage in a quarter of the basement. I plan to expand it a bit by making a hole about 2 meters and I'm wondering how to calculate the beam dimensions to support it since this wall is load-bearing. Regards, Andreas
Do you have any old drawings of the house, plans, and sections? Some dimensioned sketches and photos might also work if you lack drawings.
Is it the wall between the svale and the garage you intend to open up? Do you have any drawings of the entrance floor? Are the trusses self-supporting? I assume it's a concrete slab between the basement and entrance floor?
The ground floor is built in the same way with a load-bearing wall directly above the one in the basement intended to open from the dashed line that marks the service in and approximately 2 meters inward between the garage and what is called svale.
Trying again as it is becoming relevant to rebuild in the winter @justusandersson?
Hi Andreas,
I would recommend you hire a constructor.
Furthermore, I know you can go in here and calculate an approximate beam dimension, nothing guaranteed: https://www.byggbeskrivningar.se/dimensionering/oppning-innervagg-2-planshus/
Good luck.
I would recommend you hire a constructor.
Furthermore, I know you can go in here and calculate an approximate beam dimension, nothing guaranteed: https://www.byggbeskrivningar.se/dimensionering/oppning-innervagg-2-planshus/
Good luck.
In order to calculate it, you need to know how the ground floor looks and how the roof trusses are constructed. A sectional drawing should be enough to be able to see that.
The drawing of the house is in the thread, are any more needed?
Yes, a section is needed so that the roof structure and any potential hjärtvägg on the ground floor can be seen.
Picture two is the ground floor; the red dots are supports for a glulam beam added for an arch; one of the supports might end up in the new opening in the basement.
Best answer
If the opening in the wall is only going to be 2 m wide, no heavier beam is required. If you choose a steel beam, an HEA 140 is more than sufficient. I assume that the basement wall you want to make an opening in is made of concrete block. Then it's quite simple to remove stones and install a steel beam.
Somewhere between 2-3 meters, a glulam beam is the easiest to lift and attach; the opening dimensions depend on the beam height, preferably staying under 270mm.
If you want to use glulam, 140x270 is a suitable option. If you want to reduce the height, 190x225 is an alternative.
How large an opening can be made without causing too much deflection?