Building Homes or Extensions/I beam end support

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Expert: - 5/8/2009


Question

I beam drawing
I am buying a house and found the following setup for an I beam support.  It looks to me like the beam was too short and they used this method as a work around.  Have you seen this before and is it adequate?  

The I beam is sitting on a 2x6 - 24" which is in turn resting on a 2x4.  The 2x6 is nailed to the king stud I would have thought should have been holding up the beam.

See the attached photo.  The I beam has approximately a 20 foot span with no intermediate supports.

Answer
Hi Loren, It's hard to see the small print on your photo and this website doesn't allow for enlarging the details however based on your description and what I can see in the drawing your beam is properly supported.  It is not uncommon for beam supports to be inside exterior walls.  This allows for the exterior wall framing to proceed prior to the beam placement and it also facillitates easier setting of the beams without having to embed them in the wall framing.  The support of the beam is vertical and as long as it is continuous to the foundation I don't see a problem with this design.  I hope this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com

Bruce E. Johnson

Expertise

I can answer any construction related question in regards to carpentry, concrete, drywall, masonry, structural elements of any type of building, residential or commercial. Interior or exterior.

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Custom Commercial and residential buildings. Churches, theaters, schools and auditoriums. Most recently I am working with the Catholic Church on several design build committees. I have a website related to scheduling and project supervision. Although my expertise is more related to multimillion dollar commercial, educational and theatrical projects my generous credentials in residential and remodelling construction make me a viable source of information regarding all forms of building questions.

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