The OMPT team recently had the pleasure of working in Cagnes-sur-Mer to help a client with a project to enlarge an opening in a load-bearing wall. As this is work we are used to carrying out, the owner trusted us to do the job properly.
Widening an opening in a load-bearing wall requires steel strengthening of the structure. Our technical expert told us the steps to follow to carry out this operation properly. He recommended reinforcing the opening with an HEB100 column and an IPE240 steel beam.
To carry this out, we began by casting a concrete footing for the column to stand on, as well as a padstone to support the beam running perpendicular to the base structure. The steel structure consists of an HEB100 column fixed to the floor and walls with lag screws and chemical anchors.
As for fixing the IPE240 steel beam, welding was needed to stabilise the upper part, while one side of the structure is fixed to the wall. We then joined the beam and the column with a 10 mm-thick steel base plate. For this vertical strengthening, we welded and bolted the two elements together.
Applying anti-rust paint to the various steel elements follows the opening and steel reinforcement work. This special coat of paint protects the steel from oxidation for the long term. We finish the job by removing the protective covers and cleaning the premises carefully.
