RSJ Crack-Help

jd93

Hi all,
After exposing the beam further it is not steel, it appears to be concrete. Dark black course material.

Spoke to the building surveyor (RICS not a structural surveyor) and he advised to get a structural engineer in.

The beam has been in the position for some time and the beam runs parallel to the floor beams so hoping it just holds the wall above weight. It is possible the building was built with the room divided this way and not split from one to two rooms. I also think our neighbours have a similar beam, unsure of similar issues.

Really concerned that this wasn't picked up in the building survey and worse how much this will
cost to fix .......

jd93

To add, there is wood to bond the plaster to. Then a gap, then the concrete beam.

Strangely the beam doesnt appear to be attached hence the crack, and inbetween is not the same dark black material, but a grey more concrete like filling ( in the crack)

jd93

2nd update:
I've measured across the beam to the floor, it appears to be the same height across so no major movement.

Interestingly i exposed the plaster down the side of the wall below, the dark material is here aswell which makes me think the black material isnt the beam, perhaps brick?

stuart45

jd93 wrote: »

2nd update:


Interestingly i exposed the plaster down the side of the wall below, the dark material is here aswell which makes me think the black material isnt the beam, perhaps brick?

Looks like concrete blocks.
Are you sure that's not an RSJ with 2 inch concrete blocks built into the webs?

EachPenny

jd93 wrote: »

Strangely the beam doesnt appear to be attached hence the crack, and inbetween is not the same dark black material, but a grey more concrete like filling ( in the crack)

If you asked me to guess I'd say the black stuff is some form of bitumen which has been used to protect what appears to be a steel beam, and to bond lightweight concrete blocks to it. (ETA: Or is the 'black' just a shadow?)

But this isn't something you should be guessing about - you need to get advice from a qualified structural engineer who may need to have more plaster stripped off to really see what is going on.

There are also signs of previous crack repairs. Also, measuring the height of the 'beam' above the floor doesn't tell you anything - either the beam or the floor could have moved subsequent to the beam being installed and that movement could have coincidentally led to the beam being parallel to the floor.

What you need your structural engineer to establish is if the beam (steel or concrete) has adequate capacity to handle the loads imposed on it, and it has been installed correctly (sufficient bearing lengths etc).

Jackmydad

EachPenny wrote: »

If you asked me to guess I'd say the black stuff is some form of bitumen which has been used to protect what appears to be a steel beam, and to bond lightweight concrete blocks to it. (ETA: Or is the 'black' just a shadow?)

But this isn't something you should be guessing about - you need to get advice from a qualified structural engineer who may need to have more plaster stripped off to really see what is going on.

There are also signs of previous crack repairs. Also, measuring the height of the 'beam' above the floor doesn't tell you anything - either the beam or the floor could have moved subsequent to the beam being installed and that movement could have coincidentally led to the beam being parallel to the floor.

What you need your structural engineer to establish is if the beam (steel or concrete) has adequate capacity to handle the loads imposed on it, and it has been installed correctly (sufficient bearing lengths etc).

^ This. Get a structural engineer.
No disrespect intended to anyone, but you need more than the opinion of random people on a forum for this.

king132

As mentioned you need Structural engineer.

More than likely he/she will recommend for it to be removed and replaced by a proper steel RSJ.

sevenhills

jd93 wrote: »

The beam has been in the position for some time and the beam runs parallel to the floor beams so hoping it just holds the wall above weight. It is possible the building was built with the room divided this way and not split from one to two rooms. I also think our neighbours have a similar beam, unsure of similar issues.

Just one neighbour?


If many of the other house are the same, it may have been built that way and be perfectly ok.
Speak to your neighbours.

EachPenny

king132 wrote: »

As mentioned you need Structural engineer.

More than likely he/she will recommend for it to be removed and replaced by a proper steel RSJ.

What leads you to think that under all that mess there isn't a 'proper' steel beam?

At this stage in the process the OP only needs to find out what is there, and whether it is strong enough to do the job.

Heedtheadvice

As per Jack. How can we tell at distance?
If it is a concrete libel I would be a !iitgiitgleiitgiitgle worried!
If it is Rolled Steel Moist (RSJ) filled in to finish then perhaps just some simple remedial work. Get it structurally surveyed!!!!!