Support post in the middle of my basement garage...

[Erin]

24x40, 1.5 story over full basement.



(Black line is a load bearing wall, btw)
So the way I currently have it drawn, I have a support post in the middle of my garage.
It's a 19' free span, so I could use trusses or Ijoists for the ceiling/floor above.
Except, that in my living areas on the next floor and a half above, I'm going to have my floor joists exposed under 2x6 T&G floors.


So, I need to either figure out how to get a beam to span the entire 19' on the main floor (to support the loft), or I need to put up with a support post in the middle of my garage to carry the post that's directly above it, supporting the loft.

What are some thoughts here?

[Erin]

c'mon guys!
56 views and no one has an opinion on whether they'd rather try to find/size a carrying beam or whether they'd put up with a post in the middle of the garage?   

[firefox]

If it were me, I'd put in a big old steel I beam so I could
put a chain hoist on a roller and hang it from the beam.
But then I like to do crazy things with steel. If you do this, be sure to
size the beam to also carry the load of anything you lift with the chain hoist, like engines, etc.
Bruce

[John Raabe]

You show the width as 24' so you will need an interior beam to carry the floor loads. Especially since you have a half span joist system to provide the open cathedral area on your main level.

I'd carry the loft loads with 6x exposed wood beams landing on exposed 6x6 posts on the main level. In the basement you can use an engineered girder supported by a steel lally column bearing on large footings that will support the accumulated loads. You should look at locating the support in the garage so that it doesn't interfere with vehicle door swings. If you want to eliminate the column in the garage you will likely need a hefty steel beam.

[Bob S.]

I would span the main floor the 20' wide way with I-Joist and put a beam across the living room to support the loft.

[Erin]

You show the width as 24' so you will need an interior beam to carry the floor loads. Especially since you have a half span joist system to provide the open cathedral area on your main level.

I'd carry the loft loads with 6x exposed wood beams landing on exposed 6x6 posts on the main level. In the basement you can use an engineered girder supported by a steel lally column bearing on large footings that will support the accumulated loads. You should look at locating the support in the garage so that it doesn't interfere with vehicle door swings. If you want to eliminate the column in the garage you will likely need a hefty steel beam.

Yeah, this is what I have so far... 
That of a beam on support posts every 10' (lally column in the middle of the garage floor) and a load-bearing wall on the main floor.

Maybe a better question is:  CAN I put in a steel I-beam in the basement and still have that support post in the middle of the living room holding up the loft's support beam?  (That is, there would be no support post directly beneath it, carrying the thrust down to the foundation)

Or, do I have to do a 20' beam for both cases? 
Steel in the basement and probably glu-lam under the loft, since it's exposed...

[glenn kangiser]

An engineer can size the beam to support a post above, no problem, if you want one up there.  It could be pretty big depending on loads.  He just needs to know what you need and your loads - spans, to calc it out.

[firefox]

Once you get the size you need from an engineer, you might be
able to get a beam that was maybe a little bigger, but from a
place that deals in surplus metals. This can save you a bundle.
Just verify from the engineer that this will work. Remember, you will
need to do your homework concerning supporting the beam at each end.
Bruce

[Onkeludo2]

And remember, you can hang the joists off the beam or you can run the joists over top of the beam.  The engineer will need to know which you are planning.

One building I helped on, they hung the joists to keep the headroom.  Pretty cool setup.  We used a Hilti powder actuated gun (borrowed from my work) to nail a 2x8" to the top web, nailed the Simpson joist hangers to the 2x and the joists hung about 4" below the I-beam (actually, a wide-flange).  The extra space was used for the HVAC ducting.

Steel is a great problem solver and the engineering is usually for "free".

Mike

[Erin]

But of course, were we to go the steel I beam route, we've now gotten an element that absolutely can not be handled with a two man DIY crew...

[firefox]

You would be surprised what you can do with a little ingenuity.
First find out what the beam will weigh.
The place you buy the steel from will usually deliver for a price.
Some of them have a small crane on the back for unloading.
If you can set up your site so that the truck can get close to
where the beam will end up, then that is half the battle.
Now you need to construct a path that you can slide the beam along
to its final destination. Rollers work best for sliding. Even a bunch of short lengths of pipe cut off from some old take out plumbing that
is being scrapped. Once you have some kind of ramp way set up
and the beam placed on the rollers you will need to get a chain falls,
or some block and tackle to pull the beam along its ramp. You can use a tripod made from some heavy beams and a very large bolt.
Be sure to have a cross member at the bottom to keep the legs from accidently spreading. Remember, this doesn't have to carry the full load of the beam. Just enough to overcome the friction and elevation.

This sounds a lot more complicated than it is. You just have to wrap your head around the task and I am sure you can get it to work.  Just go slow and easy and always have a thought for: what if it slips? This way you will have something in place to stop this from happening if it starts.

Some random ideas that might be useful:
Assuming that you don't use rollers, you might build the ramp so
that you have a layer of smooth scrap wood as the top surface.
saturate the top with liquid dish soap. Take a piece of scrap aluminum say 1' x 6' 24ga and lay it down do that the beam will
be placed on top of it at the front of the beam. Then bend up the
first 4 or 5 inches of it and the sides so as to make a sled for it.
This way the front edge of the beam wont dig into the wood and
the aluminum will help ease the friction at the front.

Drill holes through the web of the beam so that you can attach things like your chains from the hoist to it.

Sorry for the long post. I hope this helps.
Bruce

[Onkeludo2]

We used a backhoe, two lifting straps, 3 guys, choice words and about a case of beer (after).  Not an OSHA approved lift plan in sight.

[Erin]

Yeah, when I mentioned the steel beam idea to my husband he said we could probably borrow a friend's bidirectional again, and hoist it with the loader bucket.