GB2205875A

GB2205875A - Composite beaming having parts to fit both sides of a wall

Info

Publication number: GB2205875A
Application number: GB8814592A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sri Parakrama Wije Ilukkumbure
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1987-06-19
Filing date: 1988-06-20
Publication date: 1988-12-21
Also published as: GB8814592D0; GB8714363D0

Abstract

A composite beam structure and a method for providing support to an upstanding wall (25, Fig 3) has two beams 1 for positioning in opposed relationship on opposite sides of the wall. Each beam has a spaced array of apertures 2 coinciding with tubular sockets formed by annular rings 3 welded to the beams. Tubular needles 4 are located in holes (27, Fig 3) extending through the thickness of the wall 25 to coincide with the apertures 2. The ends of the needles 4 are received within the socket rings 3 of both beams when the beams 1 are positioned horizontally against the wall 25. The beams are retained by bolts which extend through the apertures 2 and tubular needles to clamp the beams 1 to the wall so that vertical loading from the wall can be taken through the needles 4 to the beams 1 - this permits an opening to be cut beneath the composite beam for the fitting of a lintel. Vertical composite beam structures can be fitted to the wall to provide props for support of the horizontal structure. <IMAGE>

Description

TITLE "A beam structure and a method of providing support by such a structure to a wall." TECHNICAL FIELD & BACKGROUND ART The present invention relates to a beam structure and to a method of providing support with such a structure to a wall. More particularly the invention concerns a composite beam structure suitable for use in forming an opening in an existing upstanding masonry wall.

Lintels are a common means of supporting masonry and such load as may be borne on the masonry immediately above an opening in a wall. A lintel transfers the load bearing on it to the masonry on either side of the opening by directly bearing on the masonry on those sides, or where the masonry on either side is structurally inadequate to safely distribute the additional load to the foundations, columns or posts can be provided on one or both sides of the opening and through which the lintel reacts in order to effect satisfactory load transfer to foundations of the wall.

Where an opening has to be formed in an existing wall, it is necessary to initially provide temporary support to effectively transfer the load from the masonry above the proposed opening to the ground or to the existing foundations. Vertical movement in the temporary support has to be avoided until a permanent lintel is provided at the head of the opening and load transfer is satisfactorily effected from the temporary support to the permanent lintel.

Several methods have previously been proposed to provide the temporary support as aforementioned during the formation of an opening in an existing wall and to provide a temporary alternative load path to the ground/foundations. In the main these prior proposals are considered to be unnecessarily time consuming and inconvenient to implement and/or cause obstructions to the progress of the work.For example, a composite beam structure which is intended to provide temporary support in a wall above a position where an opening is to be formed in the wall is disclosed in British Patent No. 2,131,076A; this prior structure uses a pair of L-shaped beam sections and on fitting these sections to the wall it is necessary to cut grooves in the wall to accommodate the respective flanges of the L-sections prior to the two sections being bolted together on opposite sides of the wall so that the vertical load is taken from the wall through the flanges and bolts to the beam sections.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple means for forming temporary support on a masonry wall and the loads bearing on it immediately above a proposed opening and which temporary support can be achieved relatively easily and quickly by unskilled labour and is re-usable.

STATEMENTS OF INVENTION & ADVANTAGES According to the present invention there is provided a composite beam structure for providing support to an upstanding wall and comprising two similar beam members for positioning in opposed relationship one on each side of the wall, each beam member having a longitudinally spaced array of apertures which correspond on the two beams; tubular needle members for insertion one within each of a spaced array of holes in the wall which correspond to the position of the apertures, said needle members being engageable at their ends with the beam members for the transfer of vertical loading from the needle members to the two beam members and with the bores of the needle members coinciding with the apertures, and wherein bolt means is provided for location in the bores of the needle members to extend therethrough for securing the two beam members together on opposite sides of the wall.

Further according to the present invention there is provided the combination of a composite beam structure as specified in the immediately preceding paragraph and a wall to which the structure is attached in which the tubular needle members are located within holes in the wall and said needle members engage with the beam members positioned on opposite sides of the wall for vertical loading on the needle members to be transmitted to the beam members, and said beam members are secured together by the bolt means extending through the beam members and the bores of the needle members.

Still further according to the present invention there is provided a method of providing support to an upstanding wall by use of the composite beam structure as specified in the preceding penultimate paragraph which comprises forming in the wall a spaced array of holes corresponding to the position of the apertures in each beam member; inserting the tubular needle members one within each hole and engaging the ends of the needle members with the beam members on opposite sides of the wall with the bores of the needle members coinciding with the apertures, and locating the bolt means in the bores of the needle members to extend there through to secure the beam members together on opposite sides of the wall.

Preferably the tubular needle members are engageable with the beams in socket and spigot relationship. With this in mind the beam members may have tubular bosses coinciding with the apertures and the needle members are engageable with the tubular bosses (conveniently with the tubular bosses providing sockets within which the ends of the needle members are respectively spigotted).

By the present invention it is intended that the tubular needle members will be closely received in the spaced array of holes in the wall so that when the ends of the needle members engage with the beam members on opposite sides of the wall and are retained in such engagement by the bolt means, vertical loading will be transmitted from the fabric of the wall and through the needle members to the beam members on opposite sides of the wall. This vertical loading is, of course, reversible should it prove necessary to transmit vertical forces from the two beam members through the tubular needle members to the fabric of the wall.It will be apparent that the bolt means are effectively shielded within the tubular needle members both from contact with the fabric of the wall and from the transmission of vertical loading as aforementioned so that the operation of the bolt means (such as its engagement, adjustment or disengagement) should remain unhindered either by the fabric of the wall or the vertical forces which are transmitted through the beam structure.

Usually the beam members will be positioned on opposite sides of a wall to extend horizontally above and, symmetrically, to either side of a proposed opening which is to be formed in the wall and then the bolt means adjusted, preferably to clamp the beam members to the wall.

The beam members will be pre-designed and pre-fabricated to suit a range of sizes of openings and imposed loads. Also the tubular needle members will be of an appropriate length for the required wall thickness (even though the effective length of the tubular members may be varied by movement of the needle members in a socket and spigot relationship relative to the two beam members). The function of the beam members is to effectively transfer the loads from the masonry immediately above the proposed opening to the masonry on either side of the opening, or directly to the foundations through posts or columns placed on one or both sides of the opening should it prove structurally necessary.When the composite beam structure is firmly fixed to the wall, the two beam members will, initially, remain unstressed but provide additional stiffness to the wall during the formation of the opening. As the opening is formed, load will gradually be transferred to the beam members from the needle members as the width of the portion of the wall that is removed from beneath the beam structure increases.

In applying the present invention in practice to an upstanding masonry wall, an opening to be cut out is marked on the wall ensuring that adequate masonry is available on either side of the opening to safely carry the additional loads which are to be transferred from the wall above the proposed opening. Where adequate masonry is not available, provision for suitable bearing posts will be necessary. Using one of the two beam members (or purpose made templates) the exact locations of the holes required for the tubular needle members are marked out on the wall above the proposed opening (with provision for the positioning of any permanent lintel which may have to be installed in the opening when formed).Holes of a diameter corresponding to that of the tubular needle members are drilled through the wall at the marked locations; if necessary the ends of these holes is enlargened to accommodate such tubular bosses as may be provided on the beam members as previously mentioned. The tubular needle members are placed in the drilled holes and the beam members are positioned horizontally on either side of the wall to engage with the ends of the needle members for effecting the required load transfer from the wall to the beam members through the needle members. Bolts are now inserted through the respective needle members, provided with load bearing washers and nuts by which the two beam members are bolted and clamped, preferably in face-to-face contact, against the wall.

Where support columns are required on one or both sides of the proposed opening, additional composite beam structures in accordance with the present invention may be fixed to the wall to extend vertically at the side of the opening in a similar procedure to that mentioned above for the horizontal structure. The opening will be cut out using conventional equipment. Where a new lintel is designed to spread load to the masonry on either side of the opening, provision will be made in the opening for the positioning and support of the new lintel. A permanent lintel of the required size and strength may now be placed within the opening and dry packed rigidly against the existing masonry above the opening and at the supports.

When load transfer has been fully effected to the foundations through the new lintel, the composite beam structure (or structures) of the present invention can be removed for re-use. It will be realised however that if required a beam structure of the present invention can be retained as a permanent feature of the wall.

DRAWINGS Embodiments of a composite beam structure providing support to an upstanding masonry wall will now be described, by way of examples only, and with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings in which: Figure 1 shows an isometric elevation of one embodiment of a beam structure in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a lateral section through the structure of Figure 1 prior to the tubular needle members being bolted into engagement with the beam members; Figure 3 diagrammatically illustrates the structure of Figure 1 in use for supporting an upstanding masonry wall during the formation of an opening in the wall; Figure 4 shows an isometric elevation of a second embodiment of a beam structure in accordance with the present invention;; Figure 5 is a lateral section through a third embodiment of a beam structure in accordance with the present invention and showing the arrangement prior to the tubular needle members being bolted into engagement with the beam members, and Figure 6 is a lateral section through a fourth embodiment of a beam structure in accordance with the present invention and showing the arrangement prior to the tubular needle members being bolted into engagement with the beam members.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The composite beam structure illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 has two identical rolled, channel section, steel beams 1. Although the beams 1 may be of any channel section, it is preferred that they have a flat web 20 interconnecting opposed side flanges 21 and 22. A longitudinally spaced array of circular apertures 2 are machined in the web 20.

Annular steel bearing rings 3 are welded to the flat rear face 23 of the web 20 to be concentric with the respective apertures 2.

Tubular steel needle members 4 are provided to correspond in number with the number of apertures 2 in one of the beams 1. The needle members are of annular section and are sized so that their ends can be closely received in spigotted manner within sockets formed by the annular bosses presented by the ring members 3. With the needle members 4 extending between the two beams 1 as shown in Figure 2 the ends of the needle members are engageable within the bosses 3 so that the flat rear faces 23 of the beam webs oppose each other and the beam flanges 21 and 22 project outwardly of the composite. The cylindrical bores of the needle members 4 are concentric with the respective holes 2 and the shanks of bolts 5 are inserted through each set of respective holes 2 and needle member bore. The bolts are retained by nuts 7 and are provided with appropriate washers 6.It will be apparent from Figure 2 that the nuts and bolts can be tightened to draw the opposing faces 23 towards each other and move the needle members 4 into deeper socket and spigot engagement with the respective bosses 3. For convenience, not all of the tubular needle members and nuts and bolts have been shown in Figure 1.

In use of the composite beam structure to provide support to an upstanding masonry wall 25 (see Figure 3) one of the beams 1 is used as a template to mark the position at which a longitudinally spaced array of holes 27 are to be drilled through the thickness of the wall at positions corresponding to the array of apertures 2. Following the drilling of such holes 27, the ends of those holes can be concentrically counter bored (as indicated at 29) to correspond to the external diameter of the bosses 3. The needle tubes 4 are now located within the holes 27 (preferably with the tubes having a length slightly less than the thickness of the wall 25).The two beams 1 are now positioned in opposed relationship on opposite sides of the wall 25 and so that their respective arrays of bosses 3 are received within the counterbores 29 and with the ends of the tubular needles 4 being closely accommodated within the sockets provided by the bosses. With the two beams so positioned, the bolts 5 and their nuts and washers are fitted and tightened to draw the beams 1 towards each other and into clamping relationship on the wall 25 with the flat rear faces 23 of the webs 20 in face-to-face abutment with the wall. As the beams are clamped to the wall it will be apparent that the ends of the tubular needles 4 move deeper into the sockets of the annular bosses 3.

Where the composite beam structure is clamped to the wall 25 as described above and with the beams 1 horizontal, an area of the wall 25 beneath the composite beam can be cut away to form an opening 29 which is enlarged at 31 immediately beneath the beam structure to accommodate a permanent lintel (not shown). As the opening 29 is formed it will be realised that vertical loads which are applied from the fabric of the wall 25 above the opening will be transferred through the tubular needle members d and the bearing rings 3 which they engage to the beams 1. The beams 1 may have adequate load bearing support at each side of the opening 29/31 to provide a stable wall structure while the permanent lintel is being fitted.However, if required, one or more additional composite beam structures similar to that shown in Figures 1 and 2 can be provided to extend vertically as indicated at 1' in Figure 3 to support the horizontal composite beam structure. The additional beam structure 1' is fitted to the wall 25 in a similar manner to that previously described and will provide a closed load path between the horizontal beam structure and the foundations of the wall 25. The beam structures 1 and 11 will provide stiffness and rigidity to the wall 25.

In Figures 4 to 6, which show further embodiments of the present invention, the same reference numerals have been used to indicate items which correspond to those in Figures 1 to 3.

Referring to Figure 4, the beam structure is similar to that described above with reference to Figures 1 to 3 except that the beams 1 are of angle form. Each beam 1 has a flat web 20 and, extending from one edge of web 20, a flange 21. In use the beams 1 are positioned as shown in Figure 4 with their flanges 21 extending from upper edges of respective webs 20 in a direction away from wall 25.

Referring to Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings, a further embodiment of the beam structure in accordance with the present invention is similar to that shown in Figures 1 to 3 except that bearing rings 3 are welded to the flat front faces 23 of respective webs 20. This provides not only a particularly stable arrangement but also avoids the need for any counter boring which is necessary for the arrangement shown in Figures 1 to 3.

Referring to Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings, a yet further embodiment of the beam structure in accordance with the present invention is similar to that shown in Figures 1 to 3 except that the ring members 3 are welded to and extend through respective webs 20. Each ring member 3 projects to a small extent from the front face of respective web 20 and to a relatively large extent from the rear face of the web.

Reference has been made above to the beam structures having elements made of steel. However, it should be appreciated that other suitable materials may be used. By way of example, the beams may be made of aluminium.

Claims

1. A composite beam structure for providing support to an upstanding wall and comprising two similar beam members for positioning in opposed relationship one on each side of the wall, each beam member having a longitudinally spaced array of apertures which correspond on the two beams; tubular needle members for insertion one within each of a spaced array of holes in the wall which correspond to the position of the apertures, said needle members being engageable at their ends with the beam members for the transfer of vertical loading from the needle members to the two beam members and with the bores of the needle members coinciding with the apertures, and wherein bolt means is provided for location in the bores of the needle members to extend therethrough for securing the two beam members together on opposite sides of the wall.

2. A structure as claimed in claim 1 in which the needle members are engageable with the beams in socket and spigot relationship.

3. A structure as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 in which the beam members have tubular bosses coinciding with the apertures and said needle members are engageable with the tubular bosses.

A A structure as claimed in claim 3 when appendant to claim 2 in which the tubular bosses provide sockets within which ends of the needle members are respectively spigotted.

5. A structure as claimed in claim 3 when appendant to claim 2 in which the tubular bosses provide spigots which locate within respective ends of the needle members.

6. A structure as claimed in any of claims 3 to 5 in which the tubular bosses comprise annular ring members concentric with the apertures and welded to the beam members.

7. A structure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which each beam member is of channel form comprising a substantially flat web bridging opposed flanges and wherein the needle members engage with the web so that the flanges will project outwardly of the wall.

8. A structure as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in which each beam member is of angle form comprising a substantially flat web having a flange extending from one edge and wherein the needle members engage with the web so that the flange will project outwardly of the wall.

9. A structure as claimed in claim 7 when appendant to claim 6 in which the ring members are welded to flat rear faces on the webs of the respective beam members and which rear faces are intended to abut the wall in face-to-face relationship.

10. A structure as claimed in claim 7 when appendant to claim 6 in which the ring members are welded to flat front faces on the webs of the respective beam members.

11. A structure as claimed in claim 7 when appendant to claim 6 in which the ring members are welded to and extend through the webs of the respective beam members.

12. A structure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the bolt means are screw threadedly adjustable for urging the beam members into clamping relationship with the wall.

13. A composite beam structure substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 and 2, or to Figure 5 or to Figure 6 of the accompanying illustrative drawings.

14. The combination of a composite beam structure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and a wall to which the structure is attached in which the tubular needle members are located within holes in the wall and said needle members engage with the beam members positioned on opposite sides of the wall for vertical loading on the needle members to be transmitted to the beam members, and said beam members are secured together by the bolt means extending through the beam members and the bores of the needle members.

15. The combination as claimed in claim 14 in which the beam members are secured together in clamping relationship to the wall.

16. The combination as claimed in either claim 14 or claim 15 in which the longitudinal extent of the beam members is substantially horizontal or vertical.

17. The combination as claimed in claim 14 and substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 3 or to Figure 4 of the accompanying illustrative drawings.

18. A method of providing support to an upstanding wall by use of a composite beam structure as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13 which comprises forming in the wall a spaced array of holes corresponding to the position of the apertures in each beam member; inserting the tubular needle members one within each hole and engaging the ends of the needle members with the beam members on opposite sides of the wall with the bores of the needle members coinciding with the apertures, and locating the bolt means in the bores of the needle members to extend therethrough to secure the beam members together on opposite sides of the wall.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18 and substantially as herein described.