Building a house is a serious decision and an invaluable experience in the life of any person. Before starting work, it is worth considering everything to the smallest detail: what material to use for the construction of walls; what shape of the roof to choose; than to insulate.
It also happens that after the stage of “forcing” the walls, work stops at the installation of the roof truss system. The whole reason is that not everyone knows, and does not want to delve into the intricacies of erecting a roof. When the developer starts a conversation about buying obscure “beam supports”, and all the material is available, the customer begins to think that they are trying to deceive him.
Missing item
When installing a wooden structure, specialists use supports for beams made of a metal profile. This element is necessary for the reliable fastening of wooden rafters, taking into account the shrinkage of the material in the future.
The beam supports are open, closed, one-sided and column supports for horizontal fixation.
Such fasteners are produced in factories, which greatly simplifies their use, since holes for screws, nails and anchors of different diameters are provided over the entire surface. This is due to the fact that the beams can be attached to different surfaces: wood, metal, concrete. Accordingly, the size of screws, nails, etc. will also have a different diameter.
For greater corrosion resistance, hot dip galvanizing is used. Aluminum and lead are added to the zinc alloy, which significantly improves the physical data and the service life of the metal.
Indoor and outdoor
Fixture for beams is divided into internal and external. They differ in the shape and size of the side walls - the so-called “ears” or “petals”. It is on this part that they are distinguished.
At the external supports, the “ears” are turned in such a way that during installation the parts of the fastening are visible to the naked eye, and the fastening itself is wrapped around the end of the beam. Such fastenings can often be seen on buildings with extensions, where the wooden frame of the roof, as a rule, protrudes outward.
One of the varieties of external supports are one-way fasteners. They are divided into right-handed and left-handed. They are used for vertical installation of bars to walls of various materials.
The internal supports of the beams have “petals” bent inward. In appearance, they are similar to a half-cut metal box in the holes. Such a fastening is fixed before the beam is installed, and the diameter of the beam should correspond to the width of the support.
Most often they are used to fasten the supporting beams, which allows to increase the security of the system. They are attached to the beam from the inside and outside, increasing resistance to heavy loads.
Internal mounts come in several flavors. One of them is the “invisible” system, which is fixed with the help of a “hook” mounted inside the beam and fixed with special bolts. Such an interesting option is great for rooms with open ceilings.
Movable and immovable
Specialists are required to take into account all possible factors of influence on wooden floors during the installation of the roofing system. The main factors affecting the service life of materials are temperature differences, as well as air humidity.
To avoid various surprises when installing the frame, installers use moving beam supports to fasten the beam to the supporting rafter. Such fasteners as a metal oblong plate with a loop in the form of a hook in the middle look. The edges of the plate have many holes of different diameters for nails, screws or anchors.
The moving structure allows the tree to move during shrinkage, without affecting the entire system: on the roof with possible curvature no bumps, cracks or holes appear.
How to determine the reaction of the beam supports?
A cunning science - mechanics - studies the movement of material bodies and their interaction. In such calculations, the values affecting the carrying capacity and strength of the timber are involved.
With their help, you can calculate how much weight the bearing floor can withstand and how many fasteners you need to use to fix the beam.
In the new architecture, the most optimal is the use of beams on two supports. This design is easiest to calculate, taking into account the characteristics of the material, as well as calculating an unsafe section.
In construction, steel, concrete or wooden beams are used. A beam on two supports most often “appears” in the construction of bridges and frames of high-rise buildings. It can be both I-beams, and channels, hollow pipes and "corners".