In my new flat I will build a huge platform into one of the rooms. It will be very much like a loft bed, but wider. I'm in a very early planning phase. The room is about 3m across (no plan or exact measurements available for now) and I want to span this width with beams. I'm seriously considering using steel t-beams instead of wooden beams. Products for fastening wooden beams are readily available. What would be the best way to secure steel beams to the wall?
While I'm open to other options, I'm mostly looking for a product or thing that I can bolt to the wall and that will allow me to fasten my beam.
Some facts:
- The beams will be perpendicular to the wall plus minus a few degrees
- The walls are thick 30-40cm, probably masonry
- Any cuts in my beams will be off by a few mm, so I need some tolerance along the beam direction
- The flat is rented, bolting stuff to the wall is ok but I won't chisel a hole in the wall or similar
- I want to avoid columns, unless the best fastening option is not good enough
- I have a master mason & carpenter whom I'll run my ideas by
- The room has a ceiling height about 4m
Dimensioning Note
The beam will span around 3m. let's say I and some of my stuff stand right in the middle, for 150kg. This would mean roundabout 0,75kN linear force on the support and a torque of 1,125 kNm. Let's add a safety factor of 2 and ignore (for an unknown additional safety factor) that not all my weight will be supported by one beam. We are at 1,5kN linear force and 2,25 kNm torque if I cantilever the thing. This is what the wall and fastenting will have to bear. If there's no reliable way a structure bolted to a masonry wall can support this, so be it. But I'd ba amazed since I've seen builds pretty similiar that didn't collapse. I didn't pay close attention to the fasteners, though.
Best Answer
T-beams can be connected to walls by welding a flat plate onto the end of the T-beam, drilling holes in this endplate, and then bolting through those holes onto the wall.
Alternatively, brackets can be bolted to both the wall and the beam. Example of a simple connection. Example of a full moment connection. (Both examples are for I-beams, but the principle is the same.)
In your situation, it appears you are talking about significant structural works (i.e. you are talking about walking on the platform). The idea of a DIYer attempting this worries me significantly. If you don't know methods for connecting a T-beam to a wall, I suggest you are unlikely to know how to correctly size the T-beam, or design a sufficiently strong connection. I advise you to consult a structural engineer.