Depending on the calculations that you pick there may be different measurements to enter and questions to answer. This help page should supply the answers to most of your questions.
There is also general information on building modifications in our guide.
The information required is necessary to enable a safe & economical beam calculation so please answer any questions as accurate as you can. If you are unsure then your builder may be able to help. You can also email us at beams@beamengineer.com and then we can walk you through what is required. Several of the calculation types have options or additional sections (e.g. a lean-to roof) that can be added.
- LOADS BASED ON A SINGLE DWELLING UNIT
Different building have different required floor & roof loadings. A residential house is designed to have a smaller floor loading than buildings that have heavier furniture and equipment like offices.
There are design codes that require that floors & roofs are designed to accommodate these different loading. The loading code for the UK (Eurocode 1: BS EN 1991-1) requires that for a Category A1: Domestic & Residential Activities floor a distributed load of 1.5kN/m2 (approx. 150kg/m2) and a concentrated load of 2.0kN (approx. 200kg) must be resisted.
The calculations on this site use the Eurocode 1 Category A1 requirement by default.
If the building or room where the beam calculation is to be used has any other purpose (Hotel, motel, hospital, billiards/snooker room, balcony, office or any building/room with public access) then this must be clearly noted in the ADDITIONAL COMMENTS block. - WALL TYPES
Walls can be constructed in several different ways. Older walls tended to be solid whilst newer walls usually have a cavity, or gap, between the layers that allows for better insulation. This cavity could also be filled with an insulation material to increase the thermal efficiency of the wall – and making the building more energy efficient.-
Solid wall – a wall of solid stone, block or brick with no gaps within the wall. - or
Cavity walls – a wall with two separate layers of brickwork or blocks often with either an open gap or insulation between the layers (leafs).
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- PADSTONES
These are blocks that are placed under the ends of the beam on the existing walls that help to distribute the loads from the new beams to prevent crushing of the existing blocks or bricks. Modern padstones are usually made of a high strength concrete and are available in different sizes to accommodate different loads and wall types. - DIMENSIONS
These are the measurements in millimetres as per the diagram for each calculation type. There are several dimensions required in most of calculations starting from A and maybe up to E. Try to be as accurate as possible with the measurements.
- IS THERE A LEAN-TO ROOF
Select this if there is a lean-to or conservatory roof on the wall above where the beam will be placed. If there is (or will be one) then select YES and add the dimension information in the next block. If there is NO roof then enter 0 in the dimension block. - BEAM LENGTH
This is a very important measurement. It is the length that the new beam needs to be. This measurement should be the new opening size in the wall being removed. Do not include the extra length that the beam will need to be to rest on the wall. The beams will need to rest on at least 150mm of competent block or brickwork on both ends – we do supply a pad stone calculation, but it will be up to the builder to choose the correct one from what we suggest to match the strength of the wall on which the beam will rest. - NUMBER OF BEAMS
For several of the calculations there is an option to have either one or two steel beams elements. Under cavity or wide solid masonry walls the support beams could be two smaller beams or one larger beams.
The three possible options are:- Two smaller beams under the wall with each beam supporting one layer (leaf)
- Centrally placed under the wall (possibly with a steel plate on the top of the beam)
- Offset under the inner layer (leaf) of the wall, with a steel plate welded to the bottom of the beam that protruded to support the outer layer (leaf) of the wall
- Two smaller beams under the wall with each beam supporting one layer (leaf)
- ROOF PITCH ANGLE
The angle of the roof. Enter this in degrees from the horizontal. If it is a flat roof then enter a value less than 5 degrees. - ARE THERE ANY TIMBER PARTITION WALLS ON THE FLOOR
If there are any lightweight timber stud partition walls on the wooden floor then select YES. These walls are non-loadbearing that are used only to separate room spaces. - ARE THE FLOOR JOISTS SUPPORTED ON THE EXTERNAL WALL
This will be determined by the direction of the floor joists. If the the ends of the joists rest on the wall that will be supported by the beam then select YES. If the joists run parallel to the wall that will be supported by the beam then select NO. - IS THE LOFT USED AS A ROOM
If the attic loft space has been converted to a residential room then select YES. If it is open then select NO. - WHAT IS THE INNER/OUTER WALL MADE OF
For the cavity wall calculation inputs you will need to add what material the inner & outer wall layers (leafs) are constructed from. Modern construction tends to be made from layers of different material, for example blockwork on the inside with brickwork on the outside. If you are in doubt then go with brickwork inside & out as this is the heaviest combination. - THE THICKNESS OF THE BRICKWORK
The thickness of the brickwork wall that is on the floor. As the brickwork should be non-loadbearing the range should be from 90mm up to 120mm. - BEAM SPLICE
This is a joint where two beams that are both running in the same direction are joined with either bolted or welded steel plates. This enables two shorter beams to be turned into one longer beam. This can be used there there is limited access to get one long beam into position, but where two shorter beams could be placed and then joined. As the beams will be in a house it is safer to bolt them together. - BEAM1 & BEAM2 SIZING
To do the calculations to join two beams together the size of the two beams is required. The input for the joints allows you to enter the beam sizing – but if the beams are being designed by us in the same order then they are not needed. If we are designing the beams then pick that option in the selection box. - ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
This allows you to add any other information that may be important for the design calculation. Tell us anything that could affect the weight of the wall on the beam.
Examples are:
– If the lean-to roof is flat or angled
– If there is a ceiling in the lean-to roof
– If the lean-to roof is made from glass
– If the roof is a non-standard roof construction
– Parapet walls on the edge of the roof
– Walls made from a material that is not normal blockwork or brickwork
– If the floor resting on the wall is used for any purpose other than a single dwelling unit (e.g. a business or a hotel) - THE INFORMATION IS CORRECT AND CALCULATION WILL ONLY BE FOR BUILDING CONTROL
This is to allow you to double check your input and to confirm that these calculation will only be used for a building control submission. As we will not have been on site or have any way to assess the building other than the information supplied by yourself it is imperative that the calculations be submitted to your local building control for checking. These calculation should not be used to order materials or start construction with until they have been assessed by building control.
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