How do I install a ceiling light in a steel beam?

[KnockOnWood]

Now I believe that there are pretty large margins when calculating which beam to use, but one should be aware that both welding and drilling affect the structural integrity.
I've heard that in some wind turbines, they don't want to either drill or weld, they use magnets to attach the ladders that you climb to the top with.

Now, it wasn't really a question of climbing in the roof beams

Do you really think that drilling a five-millimeter hole in a "normal" roof beam causes any measurable change in the structural integrity?

 

[bruka]

Now it wasn't about climbing the roof beams

Do you really think drilling a five-millimeter hole in a "normal" roof beam causes any measurable change in strength?

A hole or weld in the wrong place (regardless of diameter) can very well become a stress raiser, that beam is probably there for a reason, likely to support something heavy, like a roof. But if you are going to drill, make sure the hole is as far from the edges of the beam as possible, i.e., in the middle, and it should be quite alright.

 

[Lostmoose]

Now it wasn't a question of climbing in the roof beams

Do you really think that drilling a five-millimeter hole in a "normal" roof beam causes any measurable change in strength?

Measurable? -absolutely! Significant? -most likely not. Just wanted to point out the phenomenon so that no one gets the idea of drilling an M12 hole in the bottom of an I-beam that's 5cm wide just because it happens to be metal.

 

[KnockOnWood]

A hole or weld in the wrong place (regardless of diameter) can very well become a fracture point, that beam is probably there because it's carrying something heavy, a roof likely. But if you still need to drill, make sure the hole is as far from the edges of the beam, i.e., in the middle, and it's probably quite safe.

Measurable? -absolutely! Significant? -most likely not. I just wanted to point out the phenomenon so that no one gets the idea to drill an M12 hole in the bottom of an I-beam that is 5cm wide just because it happens to be metal.

Hey, can we keep the scare posts in check?

Drilling a 5 mm hole in a steel beam, probably about a 200-300 mm HEA beam, does not cause any measurable weakening.

Claiming that is like saying the intermediate floor is at risk of collapsing because you're nailing sparse paneling to the floor/ceiling beams.

And talking about 12 mm hole-making in a 50 mm beam doesn't belong here. Nor do wind turbines!

We have to be realistic, don't we?

The thread creator just wants to hang a ceiling lamp.

If you have other opinions, you might need to start presenting some figures!

 

[Barnrikehuset]

I don't know what profile a beam in a house has and I don't know how loaded it is, but the fact is that a hole in the wrong place in a beam (where tensile stresses are large) can be enough for the stresses to be too high for the material locally. Just replacing a solid material that has stress with the same material with a small hole produces three times the stress around the hole and it's likely to plastically deform locally.

But likely the surrounding material takes up the loads after the local plastic deformation, but it's not easy to answer.

For example, a small hole in a truck's frame beam or a weld spatter for a hook in the wrong place can definitely cause it to break.

But as I said, if you're going to drill, it's good to think about where the beam has tensile and compressive stresses. You can probably surf for that, but in the case of a house and everything is built-in, it's not easy to see where you'll end up.

I would probably try to mount the lamp in something else if there was wood nearby (maybe a long screw) since I don't think it's possible to get someone who can actually provide this answer to say that it's okay.

 

[Enk Projektet]

12kg...hmm...it's a reasonably large/heavy fixture....

Maybe this could work if it's a few cm up to the beam...

http://www.gothiafastteknik.se/produkt/infastningar/hw-pro/

 

[Lostmoose]

Hey, let's calm down with the scare posts?

Drilling a 5 mm hole in a steel beam, probably around a 200-300 mm HEA beam, does not cause any measurable weakening.

Claiming that is like saying that the floor structure risks collapsing because you nail paneling into the floor/ceiling joists.

And talking about 12 mm drilling in a 50 mm beam doesn't belong here. Nor do wind turbines!

We have to be realistic, don't we?

The thread creator just wants to hang a ceiling lamp.

If you have other opinions, you better start presenting some figures!

Take it easy.
Just because I point out that drilling and welding measurably affect strength doesn't mean I disagree that it's probably okay for the OP to drill a 5 mm hole in their beam (which we still don't know the dimensions of, or if anyone has calculated whether it's properly sized).

I'm still fully convinced that with today's (or even yesterday's) technology we can measure such things, even if I don't have the education to dig up figures on it, but maybe you can prove otherwise?

I'm also convinced that a wooden beam you nail into behaves very differently from a steel beam you drill into, but here too, I lack the knowledge to produce figures.

Now I think we've strayed a bit from the topic, and I suggest continuing the discussion via PM or a separate thread if it's interesting?