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I am a home owner with a 40 year old garage which has a 16 ft. opening. There is a room above and the joists rest on the beam. The beam is three 2x12s nailed together. The beam has been sagged for along time and it has become more noticeable since painting the shingles and trim in contrasting colors.
I would like to repair this problem and need advice as to how far to take it. Options range from replacing shingles and trim for cosmetics all the way up to replacing the beams or adding a column.
It seems like replacing the beam or adding another next to it would be difficult because the floor is also sagged and it will resist straightening. What about adding another smaller beam as a stiffener?
Also, I could pour a footing and put in a column but this would create small openings. Even so, I lean towards this solution as the strongest. It probably should have had a column to begin with.
I would appreciate any advice on this.
Thanks
Replies
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3 2x12's essentailly gives you 1 - 5x12. This is obviously not enough. An engineer can calculate what you need. It seems to me that the easiest, but the most obtrusive, is adding a center support post and foundation. The sagging beam will have to be jacked to bring it level again though. How much sag do you have? You might get some plaster crack to repair, but it shouldn't be too difficult.
The other obvious solution is to jack and add a new beam and two new posts and foundations. This can be done either replacing what you have, or adding to it. This is a little tricky because of space problems, and will probably be more expensive.
In terms of strength, either way will be adequate, assuming you hire an engineer.
*This is also posted on the joist deflection thread, looks like it works here also. My son did not want a center post. See Jon's comments on jacking before bolting on that thread also. Just finished adding a 16ft by 3/16 by 4" steel plate to (bottom of) 6X12 over son's garage door to double the strength to allow use of above truss floor space for storage. Like Mike and Jon say, NO SLIPPAGE ALLOWED for this to work - Used 148 each (no typo, over a gross) 3/8" 6 " long lag bolts for the above. As Jon says, lots more work (and expense if you have to buy the bolts)than sistering, but was only option for aesthetics and door space for this case.The classic text, "Elements of strength of materials", Timoshenko and Young, Van Nostrand, 1964, has all the calculation methods on pgs 124-149 for the built up beam method. Ririck: If you find this text (or similar) and do the calculations, you will see that the lag bolts get spaced lots closer towards the ends of the beam than the center.
*It's really not that difficult to just change the header to a properly sized, laminated beam.I have done it by removing the overhead door and replacing the beam from the inside (with all the proper temporary support).With a little care the exterior sheathing can be left intact with the siding attached. Usually it only requires minor re nailing to reattach the sheathing and siding to the new beam.Terry
*Ditto what Terry said.
*Double Ditto,This is not only the Best way to attack the problem But is very cost efficent too.......Jon
*We always build garage beams with 2x12's and 1/2 osb.Usually, on a 16foot opening, a 2x12 with a 2x6 on top will suffice.Put a rip of osb in between with plenty of construction adhesive and nails, and on the other side reverse the 2 x's.(2x12 on top of 2x6 on one side,2x6 on top of 2x12 on the other.)This will leave you with a beam about 14 3/4" tall, enough for a standard 7' garage door on an 8' wall.
*We always go triple 2x12x16' for roof load only, or double microlam (14"). If it's carrying another floor and roof load, we get into 5 1/2x18" Westlam (big bucks, big beam). I dont think Ririck's problem can be solved with a clear span beam made from dimensional lumber.
*I've got a perfectly sound 4 1/4x24x32' psl that will carry his floor and roof, I think. I'll sell it real, real cheap. Unwrapped and plumb cut on both ends, but there should be 32' useable. U-pick in Mt Vernon, WA
*I had a saggy header and no room to fix it easily with wood, so i went to a recycling place and found two pieces of 3/16" sheet just about the perfect width and the salvage yard folks cut them to length, no charge, and brought the fork lift over to lift them onto the truck rack. I drilled the hole pattern you see and cinched the steel to the existing header, lined with a post in the middle for the procedure, with the best 1/2" lag screws i could find. I didn't have an engineer at my disposal, but the job has been sitting over winter and the header is still straight as it was when i knocked the post out. The two pieces of steel cost me $56 and i think the screws were about 50 cents a piece. I'll put an EPDM-covered carport/deck here, for which i am running the I-joists parallel to the building, which will provide relief room for the bolt heads.I needed three guys to help me hang the flitches, however!
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I am a home owner with a 40 year old garage which has a 16 ft. opening. There is a room above and the joists rest on the beam. The beam is three 2x12s nailed together. The beam has been sagged for along time and it has become more noticeable since painting the shingles and trim in contrasting colors.
I would like to repair this problem and need advice as to how far to take it. Options range from replacing shingles and trim for cosmetics all the way up to replacing the beams or adding a column.
It seems like replacing the beam or adding another next to it would be difficult because the floor is also sagged and it will resist straightening. What about adding another smaller beam as a stiffener?
Also, I could pour a footing and put in a column but this would create small openings. Even so, I lean towards this solution as the strongest. It probably should have had a column to begin with.
I would appreciate any advice on this.
Thanks