Meiselmania: Do-Over

The new addition was designed to match the existing house by extending the existing post & beam structure. The framer built the addition with 4x10 beams to match. But the Architect and Structural Engineer designed the addition with 4x12 beams specified. Somehow, somewhere, someone missed this detail.

Whilst the existing house uses 4x10 beams, we have learned today's beams are incapable of carrying the same loads. Building codes have downgraded wood values many times over the last 50 years as wood is now all farmed and fast grown. The structural engineer could not approve the 4x10's accidentally installed, because they would fail in deflection (too much sag).

Luckily, our GC hired a very professional and ethical framing company. They came out on a Saturday morning and replaced the spanning beams. Three of the beams were allowed to remain 4x10's since they do not have any appreciable span issues. But two beams did have to be replaced since they spanned 15 feet (center of master bedroom and center of master bathroom).

The pictures below show the 4-man crew removing the roof materials (plywood and nails into the tongue and groove), cutting out the existing beam and sliding it out the end of the house, notching larger pockets to accomodate larger beams, installing the 4x12 beams, nailing the T&G, and re install the ply! Finally, they notched out the 4x12 beams where exposed outside the house to match the other exposed 4x10 beams.