bought an I Beam today.

[reinhardt]

Plan on putting it across the ceiling of the garage supported by studs within the wall for whatever rigging purposes I may need. Also to support a storage area in the attic above the garage. It will be a little while till I get the time to mount it, but I will keep everyone posted. If anyone cares...

The beam has a 6" web 1/4" thick w/ a 4" flange 3/8" thick by 15 feet long. Plan on (2) 2x4's w/ a piece of 1/2" plywood laminated between them to support the beam. From what I can gather it should support 2000 pounds. No intentions to lift anything much heavier than an engine. I intend on borrowing a dynamometer from work to load test it before putting it into regular use.

I am open to suggestions. Anywho, thought others might be interested.

Ben

 

[Full Size 66]

I have a friend who does a similar thing with a beam about the same size. I think you're on the right track to load test before you actually do anything important. My friend uses a very high quality (straight grain, square, and no warpage) 4x4 post to support one end and the other end goes into a bracket on the wall, a big bracket...

 

[327-365hp]

I've been thinking about doing this also. I have 14' span that would be a perfect spot for it. I'd like to know if a 6" beam is strong enough or should I go taller. 4x4 fir posts would be a good support. I'm pretty sure they make microlam posts now which would be stronger. Or steel would be best

 

[Lkdelta]

My lift beam sits on 8'-12' "adjustable/expandable" floor jacks.

The beam is jammed up there with brackets and then I place the floor jacks under the lifting beam at what-ever width I need, keeping it as close to the load as I can

my beam is 4 2x6x12's, nailed (every 12") and glued.... (and clamped when first constructed)..max span is 141"

No movement at all with 1400 LBS hanging from it

 

[reinhardt]

I've been thinking about doing this also. I have 14' span that would be a perfect spot for it. I'd like to know if a 6" beam is strong enough or should I go taller. 4x4 fir posts would be a good support. I'm pretty sure they make microlam posts now which would be stronger. Or steel would be best

i was looking for an 8" but this one leaped out at me for a decent price. besides, my ceiling is only 9' so every inch counts. i will let you know if it budges w/ 2k pounds on it.

would a 4x4 fir post be stronger than (2) 2x4's glued and screwed w/ plywood in between?

ben

 

[Michael T]

Just ran across this thread...

Along these lines, I have a garage that's approx. 23' deep X 26' wide, with 9 1/2' ceilings. I've loaded the attic over the garage with way too much stuff...mostly just **** that we can't seem to throw away. The bulk of the items in the attic was put there about 6 years ago. I've noticed cracks opening up in the ceiling and the walls. Nothing too wide, about 1/8" at the widest.

The post about an I-beam struck me as possibility for support, but we're talking about a span of 26'. Does anyone know: would a center support post be recommended? Can I just open up the side walls and beef up the vertical 2 x 4's with more 2 x 4's or 2 x 6's to hold up the beam? I'm more concerned about the security of the I-beam support than the aesthetics. If I hate the appearance of the beam, I can always box it in, so that's a non-issue.

I would really appreciate any comments about my idea. Thanks.

 

[Cyberbear]

My last shop where I used a steel I-beam was 24' x 25.5' and used a 16" I-beam for holding up the second floor above it that I used for heavy storage.
Because the two story building was rated commercial, I needed 2 x 12" ceiling/floor joists @ 16" o/c with 3/4" ply flooring. The area above had 8' walls and the beam was supported on 3.5" od steel columns at each end with a 36 x 36 x 30" deep footing underneath. The walls that held up the floor joists had 18 x 30" continous double steel reinforced footings. That I-beam was rated at 2000 lb per lin/ft, the whole building was shear paneled and is very stout, to say the least. It survived the 1987 Whittier, CA earthquake with only a few popped drywall nails.

 

[rburke65]

What did you have to give for your 15' beam?

 

[Daddyoneleg]

This may sound obvious but look hard down the beam for a crown.I put a 12''@40lb/ft wide flange beam to support bonus room above the garage and lifting in the garage.It spans 21ft and when people walk in the room the beam quivers.My beam was perfectly straight and now I wish I would have heated the one side with a rosebud oxy/acet to give it a 1/2 '' over 21ft crown before I installed it.If your beam ends up too light you could stitch weld more iron on the bottom side of the beam after the install.I have a stack of framed 2x6s in each wall supporting the beam.That kept the engineer happy. -Cheers

 

[mellamoesrico]

I wouldn't put the plywood spacers between the two studs. Glue and screw the studs together for maximum strength. Then put the plywood shims on the outside of the new "pole" if needed to fill the gap to jack studs or whatever. That "pole" should hold a lot of weight, but only if its a straight compressive load. If that pole gets leaned over off of plumb any appreciable amount, or develops a bow in it, then look out cause it will buckle soon. So the trick is to brace it at several different heights from several different angles (planes).

Imagine a pipe completely surrounded by foot-thick concrete poured all around it, except for at the very ends, where your loads will touch it. You can squeeze this pipe with huge compressive loads because the concrete will keep it from buckling. Now, you can't fill your wall with concrete, but you can brace the pole laterally (with the wall) and obliquely (in-out of wall) to keep the load pointing straight down through the center of the pole.