Hello!
I'm considering building a machine hall (or similar storage) this summer and have sketched a bit and come up with the dimensions of 21.6m wide and 7.2m deep, with one long side fully open or with sliding doors for easy access. I plan to build the walls from wooden studs with sheet metal cladding (not insulated, more like a metal shed) and for the roof, I'm considering self-supporting sheet metal. Hopefully, it's possible to find sheet metal that can handle about 7.8 m between the supports (we rarely get any significant snow load here in the south).
Now to my question: what should I choose for a beam along the long side that will be open? There are options like glulam, metal, Kerto, "masonite beams," etc. What's the cheapest and best? I can consider two posts (like in the picture) but no more. Preferably fewer. All suggestions are welcome!
I'm considering building a machine hall (or similar storage) this summer and have sketched a bit and come up with the dimensions of 21.6m wide and 7.2m deep, with one long side fully open or with sliding doors for easy access. I plan to build the walls from wooden studs with sheet metal cladding (not insulated, more like a metal shed) and for the roof, I'm considering self-supporting sheet metal. Hopefully, it's possible to find sheet metal that can handle about 7.8 m between the supports (we rarely get any significant snow load here in the south).
Now to my question: what should I choose for a beam along the long side that will be open? There are options like glulam, metal, Kerto, "masonite beams," etc. What's the cheapest and best? I can consider two posts (like in the picture) but no more. Preferably fewer. All suggestions are welcome!
Yep 
That was somewhat the idea to stick to a 6m standard beam to make it a bit cheaper, but it also has some bearing on your project as you can see it as 3 pieces of 7m beams in the front. Now I can't find a really good calculation model anywhere, but Moelven does have a calculation program for glulam
That was somewhat the idea to stick to a 6m standard beam to make it a bit cheaper, but it also has some bearing on your project as you can see it as 3 pieces of 7m beams in the front. Now I can't find a really good calculation model anywhere, but Moelven does have a calculation program for glulam Does that program calculate a continuous four-support beam?menhir said:With that calculation program and a span of 7.2 m between each post, Moelven wants you to use a 115x630 mm glulam beam. That feels a bit too hefty, in my opinion...
Or are there three two-supports?
The moment distribution becomes considerably more favorable with a four-support.
It becomes quite a wind trap with such a large open area. Now I don't know how it fits otherwise, but a machine hall with dimensions 10m x 16m. It is much more robust and doesn't have to be more expensive to build. With a large gate on one of the long sides.
anaitis: It says that the beam cannot be spliced, so I assume the program calculates with a whole beam instead of joints over each post.
grävaren: Yes, I've thought about the wind drag. It will probably have sliding doors on the front side to reduce both wind drag and precipitation. Or I might put a wall for the top 1.5 m and leave the rest open. Since I was thinking of having a monoslope roof to avoid spending time (or money) on building roof trusses, it will be a bit "too high" at the front edge that can be built in. There will be wind drag nonetheless, although not as much. Unfortunately, something like 10x16 is probably not an option. I need access to most things (trailers, hay, tractor, wood chip storage, etc.) from the front to avoid building so large that you can "drive around" inside to access everything. It's a bit cumbersome if, one day, you need something that's at the back and first have to move what's in front...
grävaren: Yes, I've thought about the wind drag. It will probably have sliding doors on the front side to reduce both wind drag and precipitation. Or I might put a wall for the top 1.5 m and leave the rest open. Since I was thinking of having a monoslope roof to avoid spending time (or money) on building roof trusses, it will be a bit "too high" at the front edge that can be built in. There will be wind drag nonetheless, although not as much. Unfortunately, something like 10x16 is probably not an option. I need access to most things (trailers, hay, tractor, wood chip storage, etc.) from the front to avoid building so large that you can "drive around" inside to access everything. It's a bit cumbersome if, one day, you need something that's at the back and first have to move what's in front...
Now I looked up the program myself. I believe your option is not there, but if you use what resembles your hall the most, a two-bay (three-support) canopy you get the following dimensions:menhir said:
Here you should consider that your beam is more favorable in terms of strength, meaning a more precise calculation will likely yield an even smaller beam!
Anaitis: Thank you for your calculation. I chose "Beam over free opening" in the program and then entered the width as 14400mm (Actual width is 7200mm, but they calculate on a gable roof so I doubled the width to get the correct width for "my" roof) and the opening 7200 (21600/3=7200). Roof: sheet metal roof without insulation, slope 15 degrees. The only option I get then is 115x630mm.
If instead I choose Porch roof 3-support with sheet metal roof without insulation, I can't have as wide an opening as I wish, but if I reduce the opening to 6 meters, I can use the beam 90x405 or 115x360. That sounds more reasonable to my amateur ears than 115x630. I set the center-to-center distance of the roof beams to 10 cm. Self-supporting sheet metal probably has about that measurement between the "valleys" in the profile. The only question is: can these beams be spliced? I've drawn in "cross supports" at the top of the columns which provides bearing at 0, 1.5, 5.7, and 7.2 m. The largest actual free opening would thus be 4.2 meters. Is it possible to splice then? And can it be calculated like that? The cross supports might not bear as much as a whole column?
If instead I choose Porch roof 3-support with sheet metal roof without insulation, I can't have as wide an opening as I wish, but if I reduce the opening to 6 meters, I can use the beam 90x405 or 115x360. That sounds more reasonable to my amateur ears than 115x630.
I set the center-to-center distance of the roof beams to 10 cm. Self-supporting sheet metal probably has about that measurement between the "valleys" in the profile. The only question is: can these beams be spliced? I've drawn in "cross supports" at the top of the columns which provides bearing at 0, 1.5, 5.7, and 7.2 m. The largest actual free opening would thus be 4.2 meters. Is it possible to splice then? And can it be calculated like that? The cross supports might not bear as much as a whole column?
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