New Basement Door too Close to Steel Beam Pocket

[Sam H]

Hi Colleagues,

I am working on a project in Ottawa, Ontario, where we need to open a new basement access door. The door is only 6" from a steel beam pocket, and of course, as per the building code, this 8" wall is not reinforced. What is your opinion about the main points that need to be verified, and the best practice in order to avoid costly demolition and re-construction of a reinforced wall section?

Thanks

 

[XR250]

How much load from the beam?

 

[a_urbs]

Is that 6" from the edge of the door frame to the CL of the beam pocket/base plate or 6" to the edge of the pocket? I feel a sketch could help. You don't want to undermine the BP or disturb the zone of influence below the BP if you don't have to. Also, is the wall unreinforced or reinforced, because you mention both?

 

[Eng16080]

Given the limited information, it's difficult to give a good response here.

Is the load 100 lbs? Then there's probably no issue.

Is the load 100,000 lbs? Then I'd consider strengthening the wall. One option that I've used is to bolt a steel section (like a channel to the wall) with the assumption that the channel will be supporting all or nearly all the load.

While it's best to avoid unreinforced concrete in terms of supporting heavy concentrated loads, ACI 318, Chapter 14 provides a means to calculate the strength of an unreinforced section. Be careful because there are limitations, especially in moderate/high seismic zones. Also, I don't think a column is allowed, although a wall is. In your case, I'm not sure what this would be considered. Per Ch. 14, even unreinforced concrete tends to have a rather impressive capacity, especially for walls which aren't slender. I'm often surprised running these calculations.

 

[Brad805]

Most basement walls are furred out so you do not need to look at the concrete. If so you could support the load with steel or wood framing based on the load.

 

[XR250]

Most basement walls are furred out so you do not need to look at the concrete. If so you could support the load with steel or wood framing based on the load.

So down to the slab which may have a layer of dirt between it and the foundation footing projection?

 

[Brad805]

Yes, they may need to remove a part of the slab for that. He could anchor a spreader over the opening as well. It all depends.