My garage is ~28' deep by 21' wide. The attic has 2x8 joists that span the entire 21' and are 24' OC. Needless to say, they are rated to hold up drywall and barely at that! We had a structural engineer out to look at another issue in the house (it's in another thread of mine) and he also spec'd out a beam for the garage. I don't want a center post in the middle of the garage, but he said a W14x26 Ibeam or 7"x18" LVL would suffice to clear the span.
I'm leaning towards the Ibeam as it is cheaper, weighs less than the combined plies of the LVL and is narrower. Getting it installed maybe a bit more difficult, as it weighs just over 700lbs and is a single piece. The LVL would be easier as it'll come as 4 separate 1 3/4" wide pieces.
For support I'll remove the drywall on the ceiling to get right up against the joists and on the wall and the columns will be on the footers. I may have an easy way of getting the beam in by removing a few bottom pieces of aluminum siding and the sheathing between the garage doors and right where the beam should go. No lifting or wedging to get it into the wall cavity.
My question is the support columns, steel or 2x4's? Is it steel for the Ibeam and 2x4's for the LVL, or can you use 2x4's for the steel? From what I've read, the telescoping steel beams aren't code, or they have to at least be 3" in dia. Still reading on that one.
Not sure if this is something I'm going to try and tackle on my own or just hire out. But either way, want to make sure it gets done right.
Thanks,
HD
I'm leaning towards the Ibeam as it is cheaper, weighs less than the combined plies of the LVL and is narrower. Getting it installed maybe a bit more difficult, as it weighs just over 700lbs and is a single piece. The LVL would be easier as it'll come as 4 separate 1 3/4" wide pieces.
For support I'll remove the drywall on the ceiling to get right up against the joists and on the wall and the columns will be on the footers. I may have an easy way of getting the beam in by removing a few bottom pieces of aluminum siding and the sheathing between the garage doors and right where the beam should go. No lifting or wedging to get it into the wall cavity.
My question is the support columns, steel or 2x4's? Is it steel for the Ibeam and 2x4's for the LVL, or can you use 2x4's for the steel? From what I've read, the telescoping steel beams aren't code, or they have to at least be 3" in dia. Still reading on that one.
Not sure if this is something I'm going to try and tackle on my own or just hire out. But either way, want to make sure it gets done right.
Thanks,
HD