29
votes
Accepted
Is it safe to remove old rusty nails from a wooden beam?
Nails can be removed, even lots of them.
Why?
Wood fiber
Driving a nail into lumber is different from drilling holes of the same diameter: a nail will "squeeze" in, pushing the wood fibers ...
- 16k
29
votes
Is it safe to screw into a single support beam holding up an entire house?
First that post is not carrying the load of the whole house. The beam is and the beam is attached on both sides. The post's job is to keep the beam from sagging and act as a point load.
I would ...
- 49.8k
26
votes
Contractor cut joist hangers to make them fit
No, it’s not acceptable to cut the joist hangers.
In order to determine if they are acceptable anyway, there are several issues to review: 1) hangers are notched, 2) incomplete nailing, 3) wrong ...
- 23.4k
24
votes
Accepted
It appears this support beam is shifting and the drywall is buckling underneath its weight, what would cause this?
Yes, this should be inspected by a competent professional as it could be something serious that needs to be addressed immediately.
Water damage could cause this or wood degradation caused by termites ...
- 3,081
18
votes
Can I replace a 4x6 for a swing with a 4x4 sandwiched with a 2x4?
You could, but a pair (or triplet) of 2x6s would be more appropriate (and probably cheaper).
The strength and stiffness of a horizontal structural member are far more affected by its height than by ...
- 144k
17
votes
Is it safe to remove old rusty nails from a wooden beam?
It's the first thing I do when I buy a new place--remove the zillions of nails, screws, hooks, picture wire, and other random crap that the previous owner stuck everywhere throughout the garage and ...
- 144k
17
votes
Removing Load-Bearing Wall in Timber-Framed House
What you're proposing and/or actively doing is a major structural change to the building. As such, you need to be sure that it's both safe and building code compliant. There is no way any random ...
- 23.5k
15
votes
Is it safe to remove screws from a 4x4 support beam without compromising it?
To add further clarity to FreeMan's answer, removing the screws doesn't change the equation. Any hypothetical weakening occurred when you drove the screws into the wood. At that point, some fibers ...
- 144k
13
votes
Contractor cut joist hangers to make them fit
Cutting a hanger is never a good idea and should never be accepted. It's shoddy workmanship by the contractor and there were numerous solutions that could have avoided this (starting with properly ...
- 141
13
votes
Accepted
Is a main beam being held on by an angle iron a safe construction?
That's a job for a local engineer. He'll need to figure out the demand on that connection based on whatever is going on above its joists (load bearing walls, columns, etc.). He'll probably extend the ...
- 10.5k
12
votes
Is it safe to remove screws from a 4x4 support beam without compromising it?
Unless you put all the screws within a couple of inches of each other (which would be an issue whether you removed them or not), you will not cause any sort of issue in the beam strength by removing ...
- 47.9k
12
votes
Raising a sagging section of my houses central beam ~1.2 inches
The general trick with jacking a house that has sagged over 40 (or 140) years is that you should not un-sag it in a matter of days, or even weeks, unless the sag is very minor.
The jack has no problem ...
- 223k
11
votes
Is it safe to screw into a single support beam holding up an entire house?
At least in the area where I live, that type of support post is used when a house is modified (wall was removed, to prop up a sagging beam, etc). If the house was designed to have a support post ...
- 2,038
10
votes
Floor Joists Knot
It always happens and was a total miss by the framing crew. But, unless you're springy upstairs it's not really a problem. The adjacent joists will assist just fine for normal empty area loads above.
...
- 10.4k
10
votes
Is it safe to remove screws from a 4x4 support beam without compromising it?
For fasteners with diameter less than 1/4", Chapter 12 of the National Design Specification prescribes zero fastener strength reduction based on fastener spacing and end distance. See 12.5.1.1.
I ...
- 10.5k
9
votes
Contractor cut joist hangers to make them fit
You never cut hangers unless they are made for cutting. Call in a inspector who will advise you or the engineer who done the design but don't under any circumstances let this go without it being ...
- 91
9
votes
Is it safe to screw into a single support beam holding up an entire house?
Notice the post is not just supporting the beam, it’s holding up ends of the boards that make up the beam!
Would strongly recommend consulting an engineer ASAP and having the beam supported correctly. ...
- 466
9
votes
Cannot figure out how to drywall basement wall underneath steel beam!
You really just have two choices here. The first is to frame some wood structure over the steel beam that you can then attach drywall to. This does lead to a "jut out" as you called it and ...
- 65.7k
9
votes
What size beams do I need to lift/support my house?
I will join the chorus of people telling you not to do this, but I'll answer your question to give you an idea of what you are facing.
First, I understand why you don't want to call a house moving ...
- 8,595
8
votes
Accepted
What torque value for bolts that are holding a steel beam to reinforce a wood floor beam
You have done a lot of research as to torque specifications. However they all relate to the strength of the bolts and nuts. That is not the issue.
The torque specification you are looking for is ...
- 37.8k
7
votes
Can I move the posts under the beam in my basement?
Possibly, but you should consult a structural engineer. For the cost of less than a day's work for an engineer you will get an answer that you can rely on. I know, it's unfortunate that you'd have ...
- 524
7
votes
Elegant way to jack two materials apart, applying spreading pressure to pin them in place?
Power Wedge with Wing Nut
Build a power wedge from some wooden wedges, a bolt and a wing nut.
It will be strong, simple to tighten, and seismically safe when the bottom wedge is fastened to the top of ...
- 16k
7
votes
Is this wall removal safe?
No one here can tell you it's safe. That has to be done by a structural engineer doing a site visit and examining the building plans. If you're terrified, go to your home store and rent a few ceiling ...
- 83.7k
7
votes
Can this post supporting a roof beam structure be moved?
The vertical bit is called the post, which is holding the horizontal beam. Any such changes require consultation with the original architect/engineer or a new engineer. This needs to be stressed, ...
- 7,014
7
votes
Accepted
Can this post supporting a roof beam structure be moved?
Wow... I totally missed the detail that the post is to be moved not removed. Much of this answer is still appropriate but changes to relocating the "green" beam instead of beefing up the &...
- 47.9k
6
votes
Accepted
Steel beams for 22' interior clear span
Just a heads up, spanning 22' while being limited to 4-6" floor depth is extremely cost prohibitive. Deeper is always cheaper, but it sounds like you don't have the space to make this work as planned.
...
- 4,829
6
votes
Accepted
How to Fill Gap Between Steel Beam and Concrete Pillar?
mortar is not really structural, I would go with steel, perhaps half-inch plate and some washers
- 23.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Is it safe for my house's main carrying beam to be two separate beams?
We’ve learned a lot about construction in the last 115 years since your house was built.
We use to just worry about holding everything “up”. Now we design for vertical loads and horizontal loads (...
- 23.4k
6
votes
I want to remove a wall dividing my living room from my porch
You want to remove an exterior wall that is integral to the structure of the building so you will need to know how to provide a suitable, to code, way to support the load that the wall is carrying.
...
- 13.7k
6
votes
I want to open up my kitchen by taking down a load bearing brick wall
Taking out a load bearing brick wall is a very complex project. If done wrong it could undermine the soundness of the house. The first question should not be "what kind of beam do I need". ...
- 1,500
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