My parents bought a new townhouse in the '70s, in the new house there was a curved wooden beam in the floor between floors 1 and 2 which results in a slightly sagging ceiling. A bit annoying. Can it be fixed? What are the alternatives? The beam might be broken, we're not sure. I don't know how long the beam is, but it's probably 4 meters. Add a new beam next to it and remove the curved one?
Hmmm, but does it hold? It's almost the entire 4-meter length that hangs down, maybe 3 meters that hang. Yeah, it might work. Should probably be tested! Depending on how it looks when we tear down the ceiling panels, we'll know which option is best.kamilenski said:
If the beam truly has a load-bearing function, it might not be wise to remove the material that is most beneficial in the beam....
If it sags more than one would expect from a properly dimensioned beam (which can be quite a lot), I would brace the sides of the beam and replace it. Though it seems strange that there would be a construction error in a townhouse in this manner...
If it sags more than one would expect from a properly dimensioned beam (which can be quite a lot), I would brace the sides of the beam and replace it. Though it seems strange that there would be a construction error in a townhouse in this manner...
That was my thought too, to put in a new beam and remove the old one. It's sagging perhaps 4, max 5 cm I would guess, not that much but it's noticeable, it becomes more visually apparent too when the light is on a white ceiling. Yes, the beam was like that from the purchase, why it was left like that I don't know, I don't know if the beam was like that from the start or if it bent shortly after it was installed.MathiasS said:
It is not glulam but a "plank"... unfortunately, I am not so familiar with the types of wood and do not know the exact name. Guessing 195x45?MathiasS said:
Hmm, now when I looked more yesterday, it's also sagging in the other adjoining room along the same line. About 7 meters in total, with a wall in between. So either there are 2 beams resting on the partition wall and both have sagged, or there is one glulam beam spanning the entire 7m stretch(?). It's just strange to me if there would be a glulam beam in a townhouse precisely at this spot, I find it hard to believe there's a glulam beam between the first and second floor in a small townhouse with small rooms, maybe somewhere on the second floor that helps support the roof, but even as an amateur, I don't think there are glulam beams at all in a townhouse, right? ...such small areas everywhere and I think planks and boards are what are used.