Handling I-beams / leveling old house
Hello,
I am investigating a job: to level and stabilize an old 2-storey house, now supported by deteriorated wooden posts and beams. The posts rest on soft damp ground. I will retain a soils engineer to determine load bearing capacities, and then a structural engineer to spec the steel work. The house is 46′ long – including an addition – and 24′ wide.
My question has to do with the handling of the steel. I plan on removing the skirting and then pushing the beams in from the front of the house with a backhoe. Trouble is that the steel will come into the 5.5 foot high crawlspace at a steep angle, because the city sidewalk is 6′ away. I want to catch the steel on some kind of shop-made skid or roller, in order to lift and direct the end up and toward the back of the house. Once laid out under the house, the new beam can be lifted into position, and held there as the welder butt welds and fastens each beam to its posts.
When doing a similar job with wooden beams, I hang the beam in position under the joists by passing it through two woodens frames nailed to joists. For a small beam, the frames can be made by blasting 1×6 material, two uprights and one crosspiece. Of course, this method will not support heavy steel.
Do you guys have any advice on pushing and directing the steel, and on supporting it against the floor joists as it is being posted? Any useful devices that you can share, or other advice? Any preferred methods or sequence when lifting the beam in place?
Cheers, Pierre
Replies
here is what I have done- take 3x5x1/4" steel angle and cut to say three foot lengths ,burn or drill 5/8" holes thru one leg- two per piece about 1 1/2"
o.c. At the other end on the opposite leg burn or drill 1 1/4" hole in each piece.
bolt your angled leg pieces to the floor joists with 1/2" lags at a width an inch or two wider than your beam. Run a piece of 1" allthread thru the bottom hole pass it thru a piece of 2" electrical conduit, thru the bottom hole of the other leg and bolt each end.
so you have a u shaped bracket bolted to the floor joist with a roller on the bottom to catch the beam- make four or five of them and roll that puppy in place.
if you can make them shorter than three feet do- make them as short as practical so you don't have much lifting to do- they will hold the beam safely above you while you work.
put a house jack and a 4x4 near each footing pad use 18x18 cut offs from a microlam under each jack-2 per - and take her up slow and easy. Make sure to brace the 4x4 off so it can't kick out.
Edited 8/18/2003 2:11:52 PM ET by hubcap
I wonder if you'd have better luck PULLING the thing rather than PUSHING it. Get a long cable and run it through the crawlspace. That way it shouldn't dig in as bad as if it was pushed.
If reality wants to get in touch, it knows where I am.
I agree with Mr. Hog. Also, when you are checking out jacks to rent, look for some heavy-duty rollers at the rental center. There are all sorts of specialty rollers around....that's not a mistake, it's rustic
Pierre,
I use lengths of pipe, steel, pvc, whatever it takes. Use several, and keep repositioning them. In your situation since the beam will be angle down, you may do more holding back then pushing.
make a contraption or two in the basement for catching the beam. Use qualcraft, or proctor wall jacks to lift the beam in place. Probably qualcraft so you can modify jackpost length.
Heres a picture of an 1100#er being jacked into place by two guys.
Tom