Replies

1. 
   Jay_M. | May 10, 2000 11:46pm | #1

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   John,

   There are many, many considerations to consider. Bearing wall over beam, 2nd floor or 3rd floor on house. Depth of house, contributing area to beam vs. foundation walls, etc., etc.

   Jay M.

1. 
   Ron_Budgell | May 11, 2000 02:18am | #2

   *It's a difficult question, one we don't need to think of very often. I might be able to give you a little bit of a hint, though, because a friend just lifted a small house twice. First, he lifted it off its site then lifted it back onto a new foundation. His house is a single storey with a half loft. The house measures about 26' x 24' and it weighed 44,000 pounds. Construction was standard 2x4. No chimney. Maybe you can scale up from that, but it still won't give you more than a hint of the loading on the centreline or any other particular line. Point loads or their absence will make a difference to beam sizing, too. Generally speaking, all I need to know about a house's weight is that I can carry the whole thing in a half ton truck.

1. 
   Fred_Y | May 11, 2000 06:06am | #3

   *John,I'm an engineer and I agree with Jay that this is a complex question. There is no way I could guess based on the information you provided. To do this right you should get an engineer to do it for you. To do it yourself you need to look at what is bearing on what and take the contributing area which the beam will support. Then for each contributing area get the weight of the building materials (for example, a second story floor may have flooring, sub flooring, joist and sheet rock below). You may look to the local library for an engineering or architects handbook with weights of materials. Also don't forget what is refered to as "live load". This is people, furniture etc. A good number for a second floor residence would be 30 lbs per square foot. A roof may have 20 lbs per sq ft or it could go alot higher if you have much snow. Attics can range from 10 to 30 depending on how accessible they are for storage. The live loads are defined by the building code although some judgement can be used in some situations. In general, steel beam design would be beyond the average do it yourselfer. In my area you would need a building permit and a simple drawing and letter stamped by an engineer or architect to proceed. Going to a big engineering firm may be a bit pricey. You could try getting someone who has a little extra time and willing to moon light - You may ask around. Maybe your city inspection dept can suggest some names or look up the local chater of the American Society of Civil Engineers, etc. I did a job like this for a friend recently. He had the house plans so I didn't need to do a site visit - took me about half an hour. Anyway, hope this helped. Good luck.

2. 
   Guest_ | May 11, 2000 02:23pm | #4

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   this is a piece of cake for a competent builder with a current copy of the building code in your area..
   you need dimensions and a cross section..

   go to a different steel fabricator and find someone who will do the calculations as part of the price..most of them have engineers on staff

   most good builders can come up with the correct number, but their number MAY not be accepted by all Bldg. Inspectors..

   b but hey, whadda i know?

1. 
   Guest_ | May 12, 2000 03:04am | #6

   *John, this can be a relatively simple thing to do on a simple house. But I'm reluctant to give out any advice without having any idea what your house looks like, what your local codes are, and what live load requirements are in your area. I do have one suggestion though - go to a truss company or a lumberyard with your plans, and see if they'll design a wood beam for you. You might find it's much cheaper and easier to work with, and decide to go that route. Even if you don't decide to go with steel, they might give you the design info if you ask. I would encourage you to be honest about what you're doing, though - tell them you just want to compare wood vs. steel beams and choose the best route.

3. 
   john_cusson | May 12, 2000 03:04am | #5

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   Can anyone tell me how to calculate/estimate the weight a house puts on its center beam. We intend to use steel and the steel supplier tells us if we give him the weight the beam will bear, they will be able to tell the size beams to order.

   Thanks for any help.