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Hi,
I want to replace the post in my basement with a beam. I have figured out the size, temp. beam and supports. Looking for a good trick to lift the beam into place. Plenty of room in basement to manuever around. The new beam is 10″ and 25′ long. Thanks.
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Replies
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Cribbing...lots of cribbing. Built at 1/4 length of beam from each end to facilitate lifting beam in a see-saw fashion. When beam is almost in place, use two bottle jacks or screw jacks to take the weight off your temp. supports, and put in your permanent supports.
*I just did this again last week.what I do is pretty simple. I first lay beam up next to posts to be removed. then I build a temporary support wall down each side . on these walls I build in several "ladders" across from each other, lagging or nailing the rungs into the 2x4 used to build wall. I space these 12-16" apart from the bottom to about 10" below the final height of the bottom of the beam. usually I space these about every 6-8 feet on the support walls. once these are in place, get some 4x4 or pipes that can support the beam and use these to insert from one side of support wall to the rungs on the other side support wall to hold beam as you raise it up first from one end, then the other. I use a come- a-long or a small hoist(chain fall) that is hung from a pipe that sits on top of the temporary walls.( make sure hoist will handle load. ) once you get beam up to the last rung, you can use a bottle or car jack to inch it into final place. I haave done many of these alone except for delivering to site, and have had good success using this method. the nice part is that you aren't relying on strong backs , and that you have control at each level as you raise. you can do this with one hoist as long as you don't mind moving back and forth, or you can use several to do it more quickly. you can rent chain falls for 30-40 bucks a day. one question I have is are you going to have 25 feet clear when done? how deep is beam, and what is above it in building? this is a long span, and can put a big load on the support posts as well. lol!
*bill,pardon my interuption but your method with a beam this size will get someone killed. You are talking about putting a thousand pounds and more on a 2"x4" stuck to the side of a stud with a couple of lags or nails. Ever see lumber split and splinter? As Mike Maines said, cribbing and lots of it. You need direct support on a stable base to ground.
*There's a "genie" hoist, looks like a forklift, that will do it except I think the part that telescopes will hit the ceiling first you'll have to look at it first go by a rental place and let them demonstate it for you.
*Try this site; http://www.genielift.com
*We rent the genie lift at about $75 per day. It can lift about 750# to 1000# to a height of about 15 feet. It has a hand crank for really easy lifting. They are the nuts !
*pifin,I have done this many times , and I guess I have just been lucky. I agree that cribbing is stronger and will defer to that method.
*R. and Tim, those things look like they'd work great! Are they hard to maneuver into the average basement? http://www.genielift.com/ml-series/
*Mike,Mr.Von Scoy, I've never had one in a basement, but it should fit, read the brochure.Also think if the beam is placed right on the forks, the telescope will hit the cieling before the beam gets high enough. But if you could put some blocks on the forks first, it should work.Make sure before you rent it.
*We never had any clearance issues that couldn't be solved with some blocking. We rent the model #SLC-18. The toughest part of the whole job is getting the unit down into the basement. It weighs about 300 lbs but has wheels that make rolling down steps easier. Two guys can do it but three make it easier. We used one most recently to lift 3 300lb beams to a second floor of a house. We set up on the sidewalk and raised the beams about 17' up to a second floor window. We simply slid the beams off of the forks and into the room.
*The span was going to be 25', but after talking to the foundry today I need to cut it back to 20', otherwise I would need a 16" beam! Cutting back under 20' will allow me to use a 10"or 12" beam depending on load. So some creative framing and I will be in good shape. Thanks for the help.
*Thanks for the idea. I will check out the web site and check around Omaha, Ne for the rental shops. BTW, I have a walk out basement so getting it in the basement will be no big deal. Thanks to everyone for the help.
*b.vanscoy,what is the designation of your beam.i.e. is it a 10-30? meaning it is 10" tall and weighs 30 lb. per foot. also what grade steel is it? the thickness of the steel itself is as important as the depth of the steel as far as strength is concerned.
*I really don't know that much about the beam. I have all the information to the foundry (type of house, weight, room design above, ect) and they are calculating what size beam I will use. It looks like it will be 10" or 12". He did tell me some numbers that designate the strength and so forth...but it was like me talking to my wife about changing the oil in the car...It really didn't matter because she knows I will change it anyway and he knew I would just buy the beam. Thanks.
*Wow you guys like using the "big toys", don't you. Set the beam against the posts, build a wall either side, remove wood beam and posts. Slide wall jacks (walking type) underneath. Nail tops of 2x4's for the jacks to floor joists, creating a "channel" for the beam to ride between the temp wall and jack braces. Wall jacks are cheap to rent, so use 3 or 4 if you like. You can safely raise the beam by yourself if you like.
*mikeBINGO!!
*first he's got to get the friggin thing in there, probably get 4,5,or more to walk it in, who knows, if there's that many, might as well inch it up on some crib thing, save rental $$
*I have read this entire thead and still dont understand how you replace a post with a beam.Anyway if your replacing an old beam with a new beam, size and weight are extremly critical and I wouldn't A: have the "foundry" calculate the beam size orB: calculate the live load of a structure. People go to school for many years to do these calculations and close can kill.I had a recent job where the customer had there own plans including an engineers stamp on the beams. I didn't trust the sizing and had them recalculated and the original size failed in the calculations. I quoted the job based on the larger beams and didn't get it. The correct beams added over 1700.00 to the quote. Needless to say the guy who got the job had future problems.Once again the cheapest price may not be the price you pay.The answer to getting the beam in place is alot of strong backs. If you think 10 people could handle it get 15.
*I had been considering installing a steel beam when installing a new floor in my kitchen so I have been following the messages here. The weight of the beam was a serious problem, and now having read the messages here I see it as even more of a problem. Any comments on just using a built up beam? Maybe using 4 2x 10's? I have checked some charts for beam span, joists, etc. and am well within the safety zone of being overbuilt at 100 psf. I am more interested in comments about problems of working with the 4 pieces of lumber instead of the uniformly manufactured non shrinking steel I beam. Thanks
*Peter, cribbing is short beams, 6x6 or 8x8, stacked up like a lincoln log house (without the interlocking corners, though). The idea is that it is self-supporting, infinately adjustable, and very strong. Also, once you own a "set", you'll find lots of uses for it.My dad once had an old barn torn down, and the beams (1820-ish) were in a pile, waiting to be incorporated into his new addition. The carpenters cut up some of the beams to use as cribbing. When my dad got home he was livid. The carpenter just said "what, you wanted to save those old beams?" Moral is, don't use prime building lumber for cribbing. Oak works great.
*ed anthony,consider using engineered beams like microlams and parralams. they are strong, don't shrink and can be nailed . you can use less microlams than similar size lumber. for example, your four 2x10's might be replaced by two microlams. the biggest advantage of steel is that you can get more span for less loss of headroom.
*I recall seeing a beam made on site out of 2x10's and 3/4 plywood (I "think" it was 3/4). The end product had the plywood sandwiched between the 2x10's...just two 2x10's and one piece of plywood. They were glued and then nailed with ringshanks...I'm guessing 3.5 inch, but not sure...they weren't shy with the nails though.Its been a long time and back then I just didn't catch details like I do now, as everything was pretty new. But I think I recall being told that the beam they made ws as strong as three 2x10's...does this make sense? Is there a formula for incorporating plywood into a beam? That experience always stuck with me for some reason...I just found it interesting I guess...but I've wondered about it from time to time. Does anyone know any details regarding this?Thanks,Q
*Q, a lot of guys sandwich ply between solid stock 'cause they think it stiffens the beam. Truth is it doesn't do nearly as much as that extra 2x10 would. Half the wood fibers in plywood are oriented in the wrong direction to support a load as a beam. If you ever want to test this theory take a spruce board, say 3/4" x 2" x 48", and a plywood board of the same dimensions, and see which one bends more.Plywood works great for floors, walls, and roofs, where it acts as a diaphragm. It also works well as spacers in headers and for curved wall plates or rafters. Doesn't do much in a beam, though.
*we've done it alot ...raised steel I-beams... we've used pump jacks on 4x4's set just to the side of where the beam needs to be...space em out & pump it up....tie'n the top of the 4x4 to the ceiling is the the main thing to be concerned with
*Do you stick a pipe or something in there for leverage? Tried pump jacks for other kinds of lifting before.
*B. V.S. If that beam is 20' it can't be over 600lbs. I am guessing that it goes wall to wall? If so you can probably forget about having to lift the critter, that would be nonsense. Roll it in save your back(s). Omaha? Go Rose Bowl. If you want to call me I live in Lincoln. If you are not in a rush the next time we install one of these puppies you can come down if you like. We have a tiny project coming up in Waverly.
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Hi,
I want to replace the post in my basement with a beam. I have figured out the size, temp. beam and supports. Looking for a good trick to lift the beam into place. Plenty of room in basement to manuever around. The new beam is 10" and 25' long. Thanks.