Large paralam beam

[jmbfestool]

I much prefer timber beams over steel beams.  I think they are better!!

 

[Kev]

Is there any deflection in the center of the beam?  Seventeen feet is quite a span.  As a general question, and hopefully I don't cross a line on a woodworking forum, but at what point do you use a metal beam as opposed to wood?

It's not simply a width equation, you need to factor load. I swapped out timber for an I-beam on a 13' span due to some deflection that I did not expect ... until I got into the roof and understood the loads (yeh, would have been smart to do that first).

 

[JoggleStick]

Funniest thing with steel beams is when the fabricator misreads or misplaces little things like decimal points...

I had ordered a 1930 mm long I-beam with 100 mm welded flat bolt flanges at both ends...
I got a call from dispatch wondering if I was going to pick up my 19.3m beam or should they organise 'special delivery'...

All was well- they had rung me pre fabricating because the quoted price appeared a little low!!! ;-)

Sry to our US mates if the humour gets lost in the metrics... It's kinda like ordering a 6 footer and getting a 60 footer delivered....

 

[skids]

Funniest thing with steel beams is when the fabricator misreads or misplaces little things like decimal points...

I had ordered a 1930 mm long I-beam with 100 mm welded flat bolt flanges at both ends...
I got a call from dispatch wondering if I was going to pick up my 19.3m beam or should they organise 'special delivery'...

All was well- they had rung me pre fabricating because the quoted price appeared a little low!!! ;-)

Sry to our US mates if the humour gets lost in the metrics... It's kinda like ordering a 6 footer and getting a 60 footer delivered....

I had a fabricator make a mistake with a 17 foot piece of c-channel delivered. In the end we were able to work around it with a really good car jack, but never used that fabricator again. Steel is not something you can allow mistakes with!

Great job Guillaume, sweet beam install! I feel your pain! Ouch!  [wink]

 

[Deansocial]

If anything you can allow mistakes with steel more. If its cut short it just a case of welding back on

 

[Rob-GB]

If anything you can allow mistakes with steel more. If its cut short it just a case of welding back on

You can just splice a new bit of timber too!

But okay, it does take more skill than your average, gas axe wielding, steel monkey.

 

[skids]

If anything you can allow mistakes with steel more. If its cut short it just a case of welding back on

Not when there is load involved and you are using it to support a house, and the Engineers calculations require one continuous piece with bolt holes that need to line up on each adjacent side of a woodbeam (a reverse flitch essentially).

It needs to be spot on or you have a heck of a time wrastlin around with it. I would much rather work with wood, and make corrections with wood, it's far more forgiving onsite to come up with solutions for. Not to mention the weight of steel..Best part of steel is you get more strength out of far less depth.

 

[jeep jake]

next time you should ask if you can use lvl's instead. Also I always check the defection it's pretty easy L/720. So L= length 17' = 204" 204/720= 0.283333 So you run a line along the bottom of the beam and if you have over 5/16" they should of spec. a bigger beam. I know fire is one reason that some engineers use wood instead of steel. Wood has a much higher fire rating. (TGI's however have a horrible fire rating)

 

[Guilliaume woodworks]

Here are a few photos of same area I installed beam in. All the cabinets I built on site with festool system. Pictures aren't that good,lots of clutter because h.o. just moved in. Still need to install stainless steel toe kicks and panel above hood.

 

[tiralie]

Looks great. That island is huge!
Where will the stainless steel toe kicks go? I like them the way they are.
And my favorite question, What paint did you finish the cabs with.
Tim

 

[rizzoa13]

I agree, the cabinet bottoms look great as they are with the recess. Who's idea was it to put the island sink on the edge though? Kind of silly if that's the prep area to not have countertop on both sides of the prep sink  ???

 

[JoggleStick]

Actually, I thought the position of the prep sink made perfect sense...
I did have to look twice to pick up on the main sinks position, but once I pictured myself in the space, it worked.... Course I've got two left hands so that figures...
Makes a perfect tight work triangle from stove to fridge to sink... And all that bench space, love it, love it, love it....

 

[Guilliaume woodworks]

Thank you guys...I put a lot of work into this project .. I did a dining room buffet built-in that I think you would appreciate. I'll take some pics of next time I'm back there.

@ rizzo ... Location of prep sink was the interior designers idea..maybe not the perfect place for it ,but in this situation it's not in a bad spot.

 

[rizzoa13]

Yea there's really not anywhere else for it. I'm just of the mind that you don't need a 2nd sink and all the added cost and loss of counter space if they are that close in proximity.

Edit: I looked and saw the first picture for the first time, the sinks aren't close at all it was an optical illusion. Disregard  [tongue]. The kitchen is a whole lot larger than it seems from the last few photos.

 

[tiralie]

..maybe not the perfect place for it ,but in this situation it's not in a bad spot.

I cook, so I liked where it is, close to the ovens. I am not sure I like where the ovens (it'll get hot in that area) but having a sink there is a great idea.

Was there a reason they didn't design legs for the island where the stools are? Looking at your photo, that end of the island just seems to need something to integrate it with the design of the rest of the cabinetry.
I understand (at least I think I do) that the top is supported, and gives more flexibility for seating. 
Tim

 

[Guilliaume woodworks]

@ Tim , thanks for asking, I went round and round on wether or not to put end panels to floor at those corners. If I ran end panel  to floor  we would lose toe kick in a task/working area. And then do I stop end panel half way and have small toe kick area or run with no toe kick all the way down sides? Sometimes if I can't make a decision on a problem after over thinking it, I do nothing. That's what I did in this case, did nothing.  Not sure it was the right decision . Open to suggestions, thanks david
Here's  pics with different angle of island

 

[tiralie]

I did a quick sketch with some tapered legs. I think it looks better, but it's what ever you and your client want...

[attachimg=#]

 

[Guilliaume woodworks]

Tim, I apologize ...I misunderstood your question completely. I do really like the legs like you sketched, great idea. Also a little extra support to countertop is always a plus! I'm gonna bounce the idea off the designer. Thanks for suggestion.