Ingenieurbüro Müller, Ostpromenade 89, Heinsberg
Timber structural design in Heinsberg
Every load takes a route. We calculate it, from the rafter down into the ground.
For new builds, added storeys, loft conversions and alterations we produce the structural calculations for load bearing timber. Rafters, purlins, joists, beams, posts and the connections between them. You receive documents a building authority and a carpentry firm can work with straight away.
The route a load takes
A load does not disappear. It travels through the building, from the point where it acts to the point where the ground takes it. Timber structural design means knowing that whole route and verifying every station along it.
-
01
Action
Self weight, imposed load, snow and wind. It begins with what actually rests on the member, taken from the code and determined for the Heinsberg location rather than guessed.
-
02
Member
The section carries bending, shear and deformation. In timber the strength class, the service class and the duration of the action all decide the answer.
-
03
Connection
The joint is rarely the eye catching part and almost always the decisive one. Nails, screws, dowels, bolts or slotted in steel plates have to transfer exactly the force that arrives there.
-
04
Support
Where timber meets timber, masonry or concrete, compression perpendicular to the grain appears. We verify the bearing pressure and pass the support reaction on as a figure.
-
05
Ground
At the end the load stands in the foundation. That is why the support reactions are delivered in a form the solid construction and the foundation design can use without asking twice.
What is verified
A timber section is not settled by a single number. It is examined in three states and it has to pass in all three.
-
Load bearing capacity
Bending, shear, buckling, lateral torsional buckling and bearing pressure under the least favourable combination of all loads. The question is simply whether the member holds.
-
Serviceability
Deflection and vibration. A beam can be strong enough and still bounce or crack the plaster. Timber creeps, so the final state after years is calculated as well.
-
Fire
Timber chars slowly and predictably. Where a fire resistance period is required, we verify the residual section that still carries after that time.
A position is finished only when all three proofs stand. That is the difference between design and a rule of thumb.
The members we calculate
From a single beam over a new opening to a complete roof structure. What is built in timber can be verified in timber.
-
Rafters and purlins
Purlin roofs, couple roofs and collar roofs, with snow, wind and the loads from the build up and the services.
-
Floor joists
Timber floors in new and older buildings, calculated for capacity and for what people notice later.
-
Beams over openings
Where a load bearing wall is removed, a beam takes over. We size it and state what it hands on at each end.
-
Posts and columns
Compression members with a buckling check, including the head, the base and the connection to sole plate or foundation.
-
Glued laminated timber
Glulam and laminated veneer lumber for long spans, where solid timber runs out of section.
-
Cross laminated timber
Solid timber panels as walls and floors, verified for plate action and for diaphragm action.
-
Bracing
Wind loads want to be carried down. Diaphragms, bracing frames and tension straps are calculated, not assumed.
-
Added storeys and extensions
When timber is placed on an existing building, the existing structure has a say. We check what it can still take.
The point that has to hold
In timber it is rarely the beam that fails. It is the connection. A section can be made larger, a joint has to be thought through: end and edge distances, spacing, pre drilling, tension perpendicular to the grain, and the question of whether the steel or the timber yields first.
- Nailed and screwed connections
- Dowels and fitted bolts
- Slotted in steel plates
- Joist hangers and angle brackets
- Traditional carpentry joints
- Tension straps and anchors
A joint does not arrive as a sketch and good intentions. It arrives with the number, diameter, length and position of every fastener.
What you end up holding
A set of calculations is finished only when other people can work from it: the building authority, the checking engineer, the cutting shop and the carpenters on site.
-
P01
Structural calculations
Complete and traceable, with load assumptions, positions, proofs and results.
-
P02
Position drawings
Every position in plan and section, so that it is clear on site which beam is meant.
-
P03
Timber and fastener schedule
Sections, strength classes, lengths and the fasteners for each joint.
-
P04
Support reactions
For masonry, concrete and foundations, in the form the solid construction uses directly.
-
P05
Support during checking
We answer questions from the checking engineer or the building authority and work changes in.
What we need in order to calculate
The more precise the start, the calmer the rest. A first assessment usually needs very little.
- A plan and a section, as a PDF or a clean sketch
- Spans and clear dimensions
- The planned roof and floor build up
- How the rooms will be used: living, storage or plant
- The location of the building, for snow and wind loads
- For existing buildings: photographs of the structure
You do not have all of it yet. Call us, a few minutes on the phone usually sorts it out.
Call us 02452 6593528 Go to the enquiry formTimber that carries
Photographs of timber structures that show what is being talked about: members, joints and supports. Not a portfolio, but the language of the trade in pictures.
Request timber calculations
Write briefly what is being built. We look at your details and come back with an assessment and a price before any calculation starts.
- Office
- Ingenieurbüro Müller
- Ostpromenade 89, 52525 Heinsberg
- Opening hours
- Monday to Friday, 9 to 18
Rather speak to someone
Call us. Five minutes on the phone settles what takes three emails.
Common questions
What clients want to know before the first enquiry.
Do I need calculations for a loft conversion?
As soon as load bearing members are altered, loaded further or replaced, yes. A new roof build up, a dormer or an extra window between the rafters also changes the loads on the existing structure.
How long does a timber calculation take?
It depends on the scope. Once the documents are in, we give you a firm date before the calculation begins.
What does a structural calculation cost?
The price follows the scope and the difficulty of the structure. You receive a quotation before we start, not a surprise afterwards.
Do you work on existing buildings?
Yes. In older houses the first step is to survey and classify the existing structure. Only then can anyone say what more is possible.
Will you work with my carpentry firm?
Yes. The calculations are handed over so that cutting and assembly can work from them directly, including the fasteners for each joint.
Are masonry and concrete supports included?
Yes. Timber almost never ends with timber. Supports, ring beams and foundations belong to the same structure and are considered with it.
Heinsberg and the district
The office sits on Ostpromenade in Heinsberg. We calculate for the town and for the places around it, mostly for private clients, architects and carpentry firms nearby.
- Heinsberg
- Erkelenz
- Hückelhoven
- Wassenberg
- Wegberg
- Geilenkirchen
- Übach-Palenberg
- Gangelt
- Selfkant
- Waldfeucht
Short distances are worth more in an existing building than any fast software: an engineer who has seen a structure calculates it differently.