We are considering installing a soapstone stove on the upper floor of a split-level house. It is a modular house (Moelven) from 1975 with load-bearing lightweight concrete walls in the lower floor. We have settled on a soapstone stove weighing about 600kg, which is too heavy without a foundation. The idea is to saw up the parquet, floorboard, etc., to reach the load-bearing concrete wall and then cast a reinforced foundation from the concrete wall up to the floor level. The stove is 58cm wide and the wall 22cm, which means that if we center the stove over the wall, 18cm of the stove will be on each side of the wall.
- the stove weighs about 600kg and the floor area it occupies is 0.27sqm (0.580m x 0.462m)
- how do you cast a foundation in the best way to get the highest load-bearing capacity possible? form, reinforcement, material, etc?
- will there be any consequences for the floor on the upper level when you saw a hole like this? Load-bearing capacity, flexibility, etc?
- if there happens to be a beam right where the hole is, how do you handle it? Can it be cast in, or should it be clad with suitable material?
Grateful for help.
- the stove weighs about 600kg and the floor area it occupies is 0.27sqm (0.580m x 0.462m)
- how do you cast a foundation in the best way to get the highest load-bearing capacity possible? form, reinforcement, material, etc?
- will there be any consequences for the floor on the upper level when you saw a hole like this? Load-bearing capacity, flexibility, etc?
- if there happens to be a beam right where the hole is, how do you handle it? Can it be cast in, or should it be clad with suitable material?
Grateful for help.
Oh, oh, oh. You shouldn't ask such a question on a construction forum. I work in the concrete industry and I would advise you to bring in a structural engineer who can perform strength calculations on the concrete wall. Reinforcing and casting the foundation is a simple matter - but does the wall that will take all the point loads really hold up?
Thank you for your response.
Where can one find such a builder?
And how does one determine what the wall can support?
Where can one find such a builder?
And how does one determine what the wall can support?
Unfortunately, I can't help you with those questions because I don't know - I only know how to make regular concrete structures and when it's special, I follow a drawing from a designer at a construction company that has hired me.
I can only agree with tyresö. Now, I am an electrical engineer and not in construction, but I see some questions around side forces, etc., so definitely a designer on this. The larger construction companies have and they should be able to get a hit or tips if you try with construction engineers in the yellow pages, for example.