On the extension we are on currently, we have been installing some steel RSJs, in order to hold up what used to be the exterior second floor of the property. The clients request is for the space in their new extension to be open plan; this involves holding the existing house exterior with Acro props and Strong Boys. These are used to hold the rest of the house up while we remove the wall beneath.
These lifting tools are commonplace on building sites, and when we set them up, we place them between 400 and 600 centres into the wall. Once installed and tightened up, the wall below can be safely removed
This week we will be installing a one ton RSJ with two upright steel ‘goal posts’. These upright pieces of steel are to be bolted to the wall at either side of the property, and are fixed into place by drilling through the existing holes in the steel and into the wall. We are going to us a chemical fix, a 2 part resin, which when injected into the holes cures extremely hard. The procedure is as follows: drill, inject, then screw a fixing in, ensuring all the resin coats the screw. This all makes for a very solid fixing.
To get the giant steel RSJ into position in the first place, we used a crane. This piece of steel was far too big for any human to handle weighing in at 1.3 tonnes.
Once we get the steel in place, we get the next apparatus in to help, namely a Genie Lift. This machinery is essential for domestic builders to lift heavy pieces of steel into position and the job sometimes could not be done without it. Each one has a lifting capacity of 400KG and by using multiple units, we can easily achieve the lifting potential needed to elevate the steel into place.
