About four years ago, we replaced part of the heart wall with a load-bearing beam (two nailed together 45*220 wooden beams) and today it is "curved" in the middle. It sags like a banana, maybe not quite like a banana but it is about 2 cm lower in the middle than at the ends. The total length of the beam is just over four meters and the house is one and a half stories.
It has been like this for at least two years (that's when we first noticed it, so I don't know when it started) without worsening. But what feels unsettling is that we don't know what might happen. Can we think of it as having "settled" and that the only consequence is that it looks the way it does, or will it slowly but surely bend more and more?
We had a builder look at it, but he says we should wait and if it worsens, maybe we need to do something about it, meaning it's not a big danger, but I would like to have more opinions.
Extremely grateful for any responses!
//Skytte
It has been like this for at least two years (that's when we first noticed it, so I don't know when it started) without worsening. But what feels unsettling is that we don't know what might happen. Can we think of it as having "settled" and that the only consequence is that it looks the way it does, or will it slowly but surely bend more and more?
We had a builder look at it, but he says we should wait and if it worsens, maybe we need to do something about it, meaning it's not a big danger, but I would like to have more opinions.
Extremely grateful for any responses!
//Skytte
Is the floor above sagging?
Can't you lift in the middle with a jack, then glue and nail two more 45x220 on the sides?
Can't you lift in the middle with a jack, then glue and nail two more 45x220 on the sides?
The beam is significantly undersized. How wide is it from the beam to the nearest load-bearing walls in both directions (perpendicularly out from the beam)?
I made an estimate of 3 meters of load width on the beam, and you get a bending stress in the beam of about 26 MPa. It should therefore have been glulam or kerto beam.
Above all, the beam should have been higher while maintaining width.
My suggestion is to replace it with a properly dimensioned beam or reinforce it. Talk to a structural engineer/designer.
I made an estimate of 3 meters of load width on the beam, and you get a bending stress in the beam of about 26 MPa. It should therefore have been glulam or kerto beam.
Above all, the beam should have been higher while maintaining width.
My suggestion is to replace it with a properly dimensioned beam or reinforce it. Talk to a structural engineer/designer.
It seems from the answers I've received that I need to replace the beam with one made of glulam... I suspected this, but the reason I've delayed it is that we have a bathroom above (tiles & ceramics) and I'm afraid it will crack then. Does anyone have good tips on how to handle it?
Oh...............When I recently extended my 1 1/2 story house by 4.8 m and wanted to replace the heart wall, a glulam beam would have been 380-450 mm high, which would have meant you'd almost have to duck to walk under it on the "ground floor".
Instead, it turned out to be a HEB 200 steel beam; although an HEA 180 beam would have sufficed, I prefer to over-dimension rather than under-dimension.
So I agree with the previous speaker, two nailed-together 45x220 are STRONGLY under-dimensioned, and it's strange that the tiles and the tiles above have held up if the floor has been so unstable.
Instead, it turned out to be a HEB 200 steel beam; although an HEA 180 beam would have sufficed, I prefer to over-dimension rather than under-dimension.
So I agree with the previous speaker, two nailed-together 45x220 are STRONGLY under-dimensioned, and it's strange that the tiles and the tiles above have held up if the floor has been so unstable.
Oh as I said... Took down a 4 m outer wall and it required a glulam beam consisting of 7 pieces of 45x220.... so it's 3.5 times thicker. It shouldn't just handle the weight but also vibrations, settlements, and adventures in the shower above 
Hope you replaced
Hope you replaced
Now, it might even be as bad as the waterproof layer already being damaged, and you might already have moisture in the shower floor. You can do as you please, but I would have made an opening from below to inspect the floor joists.
If there's no moisture, I would probably reinforce on site, i.e., maybe lift it about 0.5cm in the middle and then reinforce the beam with suitable material, perhaps a 5mm (calculate the thickness first) thick sheet metal (220 high) on each side, screwed and glued with epoxy.
If there is already moisture, you might as well lift the beam so it becomes perfectly straight, then reinforce in a similar way or replace with a steel beam and re-tile the bathroom.
If there's no moisture, I would probably reinforce on site, i.e., maybe lift it about 0.5cm in the middle and then reinforce the beam with suitable material, perhaps a 5mm (calculate the thickness first) thick sheet metal (220 high) on each side, screwed and glued with epoxy.
If there is already moisture, you might as well lift the beam so it becomes perfectly straight, then reinforce in a similar way or replace with a steel beam and re-tile the bathroom.
Does he really need to replace the beam? Shouldn't it be possible to try pressing up the beam with supports for a while? Increase the tension slightly each day to minimize the two cm and then when it looks okay, complement with a suitable beam next to it?
probably, but would you take the chance?MathiasS said:
For me, the thought would be nagging me so I couldn't sleep before I had assured myself of it. Additionally, movements are usually largest in the angles between wall/wall or wall/floor where it's often sealed with silicone and it's easy to miss cracks there.
Wet floor joists that stay wet for too long make renovation work insanely much more tedious/difficult/extensive/expensive/time-consuming...
It can very well be intact. But I still think one should inspect, if for nothing else than for the sake of sleep.
nah...Mr XXX said:
If there's a shower directly above, then no, no risk-taking. If it's a "dry" part of the bathroom above, then I don't know if I would tear down the whole house to see if it's okay. If it can be checked with a reasonable amount of work, then of course you do that regardless.