Since all floor beams are load-bearing elements, their dimensions and location must comply with building codes and regulations. However, with most types of home repairs, there is no need to do calculations — it is enough to replace the old structural elements with exactly the same new ones.
Replacement of sections of beams and logs
Beams damaged by rot and insects (usually the first floor) must be replaced. Remove the baseboard and lift the floor boards to the intermediate wall supporting the logs.
Test the condition of the beams by piercing the wood with a sharp knife. If the tip easily enters the material, the site must be changed. Solid wood can be treated with an antiseptic to destroy fungal spores and woodworm larvae.
Preparation
All damaged wood should be removed with a margin of at least 450 mm from the last visible signs of infection, and the nearby masonry should be treated with a fungicide. Infected wood should be burned. The replacement of the damaged section of the wall beam and the log section is described below. Remove the log section by sawing it over the middle of the nearest intermediate wall. Drill out the damaged section of the wall beam and cut it out.
Replacement
- If the masonry seam and the waterproofing layer are not damaged, cover them with a bitumen-based liquid waterproofing agent and install a new section of the beam in place. If necessary, make a new masonry seam and lay a new waterproofing layer so that its edges overlap the edges of the old layer by at least 150 mm. Then repair the wall beam.
- Now cut off the new section of the log so that one end of it rests on the repaired part of the wall beam, and the second is joined on the intermediate wall with the end of the old log. To align the new section with respect to other logs, trim the lower surface or put pieces of tile and roofing material under it.
- Clamp the joint of the log sections between two bars (treated with antiseptic) and secure them with four square-headed bolts. Put the floorboards and baseboards back in place.
Application of clamps
After removing the damaged sections of the log and the wall beam, lay the bricks in the resulting opening. Before applying the solution, check the condition of the waterproofing layer and, if necessary, strengthen it with an additional layer of rolled material or bitumen-based liquid material.
Make the masonry so that the seam with the flange of the bracket is at the right level, if necessary, placing pieces of tiles. Allow the mortar to harden before installing a new log section.
Laying of communications through beams
Pipelines and electrical wiring in steel pipes can be laid in the space under the suspended floor of the first floor. However, in the upper floors, communications running across the beams must pass through the beams. Therefore, in order not to weaken the structure, drill holes for electrical wiring pipes in the middle of the side surface of the beam. Try to place holes for wiring on the middle section of the beam, equal to two-thirds of its length.
On the left – laying of communications: 1. Make holes for steel wiring pipes in the red zone.2. Make grooves for pipelines in the red zone. On the right – laying pipes: 3. Drill and cut the pipe slots, then cover them with a protective insert
The grooves for pipelines in the upper part of the beam should be no deeper than one-eighth of its height. These slots should be located in an area occupying no more than a quarter of the length of the beam, and no closer than 0.07 of the length of the beam to its end.
The figure below shows the stages of repair:
- Cut out the old lag;
- Drill and cut out the damaged section of the wall beam;
- Install a new section of the wall beam;
- Cut out and install a new section of the log, securing the connection point with bars of the log material using bolts.
This option of laying is also suitable for cables in steel pipes.
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