I am going to create an opening in a masonry exterior wall for a new exterior door. I have bought a construction drawing specifying the dimension of the beam I need and that it should be cast in place with expanding concrete.
My house is masonry, with a brick facade and concrete floors. I intend to build in as little stress as possible to avoid any cracks in either the floors or the brick facade above.
When I read about expanding concrete, it mentions that it is liquid. I do not understand how this would be the best method for me to install this beam.
To get to the point, how would you do it?
There is a total of 23cm of space from the bottom edge of the floor to the door opening, and the beam is 16cm.
My house is masonry, with a brick facade and concrete floors. I intend to build in as little stress as possible to avoid any cracks in either the floors or the brick facade above.
When I read about expanding concrete, it mentions that it is liquid. I do not understand how this would be the best method for me to install this beam.
To get to the point, how would you do it?
There is a total of 23cm of space from the bottom edge of the floor to the door opening, and the beam is 16cm.
Hello,
Position the beam so that there is about 2 cm of space between the top of the beam and the bottom of the concrete slab. You can dry pack this space with a viscous expanding concrete, i.e., press the concrete in between the beam and the concrete slab. You can shim the steel beam supports so that you have about 2 cm of space between the bottom of the beam and the support, and then you can dry pack these supports as well. Then you can screw a 45x145 joist to the bottom of the beam, and that should bring you to the correct level at the top of the door.
It's likely that the beam will remain in place after dry packing, but if you want, you can mechanically anchor it to the concrete slab. You can do this by placing expansion screws or concrete screws through the top flange in 4 places. If you are going to drill holes in the concrete slab before placing the beam, you'll need to measure well; otherwise, you can drill after setting the beam, but then you will need to make holes in both the lower and upper flanges of the beam to drill through the flanges and into the concrete slab.
Position the beam so that there is about 2 cm of space between the top of the beam and the bottom of the concrete slab. You can dry pack this space with a viscous expanding concrete, i.e., press the concrete in between the beam and the concrete slab. You can shim the steel beam supports so that you have about 2 cm of space between the bottom of the beam and the support, and then you can dry pack these supports as well. Then you can screw a 45x145 joist to the bottom of the beam, and that should bring you to the correct level at the top of the door.
It's likely that the beam will remain in place after dry packing, but if you want, you can mechanically anchor it to the concrete slab. You can do this by placing expansion screws or concrete screws through the top flange in 4 places. If you are going to drill holes in the concrete slab before placing the beam, you'll need to measure well; otherwise, you can drill after setting the beam, but then you will need to make holes in both the lower and upper flanges of the beam to drill through the flanges and into the concrete slab.