Hi! I have a sagging intermediate floor in my timber house built in 1910. I have been advised by a structural engineer to reinforce the sagging beam with an UPE beam on both sides. Has anyone done something similar and can offer advice? How do I attach the beam to the exterior walls, for instance?
HiS sssofia said:
I'm a bit confused, you write that the intermediate floor is sagging but then that you're supposed to reinforce the beam? Is it the whole floor or just one beam? Regardless of how it is, the entire thing will begin to sag over time due to the wood's plasticity and deformations. So back to your question. Attaching a steel beam to the outer walls on a log house might do more harm than good. My advice is standalone columns near the outer wall with the bearing beam resting on top.
Best regards
A clearer presentation is needed if you are to receive any sensible advice. I assume that the entire floor structure requires an additional cross beam to reduce the flexing. I agree with Mahnils that it is not advisable to attach a steel beam to a log outer wall, especially if it is horizontal timber. Generally speaking, I think one should be careful about introducing steel into wooden structures. There are situations where it is the only solution, but wood and steel have very different properties.