Which glulam beam for balcony?

[Rumpnissen]

Hello everyone!

We are going to build a new balcony with a span of 5.5 meters. The old - now removed - balcony stood on three pillars, but I want to remove the one in the middle and only let it rest on two pillars, one in each corner.

Which glulam beam will suffice for the purpose?

Best regards,
RN

 

[Stefan1972]

Impossible to know with that information.

 

[Rumpnissen]

Impossible to know with that information.

Hehe, yeah. A bit too brief indeed. I was at the airport, but now I'm home. What more information is needed? I have a handle on the snow load of 1.5. We are not the ones who will build, but the carpenter has asked us to determine which pillars and beams should be used.

 

[Lulaua]

Measurements on the balcony too.. self-weight as well, so is it just going to be decking or something else that weighs more?

 

[Viktor.J]

I think information about the foundations for the pillars and all the attachments of the balcony is needed to make a sober assessment. A picture probably wouldn't hurt either.

 

[Rumpnissen]

Mått på balkongen också.. egentyngd också, alltså ska det bara vara trall eller något annat som väger mer?

Bygglovet gäller 5,5m bred och 2,7m djup med bakre balk/planka skruvad rätt i väggen. Vi har satt ny fasad och snickarna la in två st 195*45 för att kunna dra i. Hörnpelarna kommer stå på gjutna plintar. Vi har granitberg ca 40cm under gräset och kommer gräva ner dit och borra in nåt armeringsjärn som sticker upp i betongen. Höjd från gräsmatta till trall 3 meter. På balkongen endast trall och räcke + hängränna. Gamla balkongen var bandtäckt för vattenavrinningen men nu tror jag vi kör på nån annan variant - oklart vilken.

 

[Lulaua]

5.5m is quite long.. a 115x360 glulam beam is needed, it doesn't quite handle the deflection but there's no problem with the strength. Otherwise, one would need to step it up. Then with floor joists 45x195 s600.

Not too sure about the dimensions available in pressure-treated though..

 

[Rumpnissen]

5.5m is quite long.. a 115x360 laminated beam is needed, doesn't quite handle the deflection though but no problem with the strength. Otherwise, you would need to go one step up. Then with floor beams 45x195 s600.

However, not very familiar with the dimensions available pressure-treated..

Nice. What do you mean by floor beam 45x195? Something to screw together? Or should you go for a rust-protected HEA beam instead, and cover it nicely?

 

[Lulaua]

45x195 under the decking between the house and the glue-laminated beam, 600mm center-to-center spacing. An HEA beam would work too!

 

[Rumpnissen]

45x195 under the decking between the house and the laminated beam, 600mm cc-spacing. A HEA beam works too!

Oh, I see what you mean.
Yes, that absolutely works. There will still be good ceiling space. Thanks for the tip!

 

[anderslofwall]

Why pressure-treated? It sounds like you're going to build a tight "roof" under the decking? I don't see the point of using pressure-treated wood. 115x315 glulam should do the job, but you might get some sagging in the middle.

Edit; then attach the floor joists (45x195 or whatever you choose) with joist hangers to the glulam beam flush with the top edge of the beam so you don't lose ceiling height unnecessarily.

 

[Rumpnissen]

Why pressure-treated? You're going to build a tight "roof" under the decking, it sounds like? I don't see the point of pressure-treated. 115x315 glue-laminated timber should do the job, but you will get some sagging in the middle.

Edit; then you attach the floor joist (45x195 or whatever you choose) with joist hangers to the glue-laminated beam level with the top edge of the beam so you don't lose ceiling height unnecessarily.

Thanks. With sagging in the middle, do you mean that the beam will flex?

 

[anderslofwall]

Thank you. By deflection in the middle, do you mean that the beam bends?

Yep, it will bend a little but nothing you will notice. A few millimeters. With a 5-meter span, you will get some deflection no matter how you twist and turn it when using glulam.

 

[Rumpnissen]

Yep, it will flex a little but nothing you will notice. A few millimeters. With a 5-meter span, you'll get a bit of deflection no matter how you twist and turn it when using laminated wood.

Super, thanks for the answer!

 

[anderslofwall]

Super, thanks for the answer!

No worries!
I'm currently building a deck frame and here's what I mean by hanging the frame with joist hangers on the laminated beam to avoid losing ceiling height. In other words, you don't have to place the frame on top of the laminated beam.