I am going to install an FTX in a storage room. The ducts will run to adjacent rooms via the boiler room, and I plan to install 3 pieces of 160mm spiral ducts. I was thinking of removing part of the lintel above an old doorpost. The walls are in blåbetong (house built in 1971), the part I plan to remove is 500mm wide, 180mm high, and the wall thickness is about 140mm. Does this part have any load-bearing function? It is a concrete floor slab. An alternative to removing a part is to drill 3 pieces of 160mm holes in the wall next to it.
Does it have to be exactly there at any cost?
I would choose holes any day of the week rather than removing. Of course, after checking if it is load-bearing (quite a big risk that it is, I think, but it can't be determined from the picture).
I would choose holes any day of the week rather than removing. Of course, after checking if it is load-bearing (quite a big risk that it is, I think, but it can't be determined from the picture).
First, you need to determine if it's a load-bearing beam/header. To know that, more info is needed, and construction drawings are the best way to know.M martin@bygg said:
If you drill 3x160mm out of a total of 180mm height, there is no load-bearing capacity left, so you might as well remove it completely. If it's not load-bearing, as mentioned.
Member
· Västernorrland
· 12 030 posts
If the wall is just masonry, then it's probably not load-bearing in that way, but it should be visible whether it was cast before or after the masonry, right?
The best thing is to bring out the reinforcement drawing for the vault. Without it, it is impossible to determine what is suitable.
Thank you for all the answers. Here's a bit more info.
It is a blåbetong beam over the door, it is freestanding and there is a gap between the lintel on the frame and the beam.
We have previously drilled for water pipes and have not encountered any reinforcement.
My concern is whether it has any load-bearing function at all.
Since the beam is only 180mm high, I will be forced to remove part of the beam or the entire beam; will this affect the stability of the walls next to it?
I also need to make another hole of 160mm for an air supply duct, which I plan to install in the wall section to the right of the door.
It is a blåbetong beam over the door, it is freestanding and there is a gap between the lintel on the frame and the beam.
We have previously drilled for water pipes and have not encountered any reinforcement.
My concern is whether it has any load-bearing function at all.
Since the beam is only 180mm high, I will be forced to remove part of the beam or the entire beam; will this affect the stability of the walls next to it?
I also need to make another hole of 160mm for an air supply duct, which I plan to install in the wall section to the right of the door.
An unreinforced lightweight concrete beam should be able to be removed. If you want to make sure that the concrete slab was not cast based on the existence of the beam, you need to look at the reinforcement drawing.