Can you please let me know the size of the LVL bearers that were glued together to make a bearer? I need to replace a rotten bearer in my home. It is hardwood 100*75mm what would you recommend?
Many Thanks,
Phil
Hello @Hopephil1952
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your subfloor.
LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) is a high-strength, engineered wood product created by bonding thin wood veneers together under high pressure and heat. It is widely used in residential and commercial construction as a superior, more consistent alternative to traditional sawn timber, offering higher load-bearing capacity and the ability to span longer distances. Here is a link to the LVL page on the Bunnings website.
I could not find the 100mm x 75mm LVL size you are after. However, we'll give the store a call tomorrow to find out if the size is available in the special-order category. As soon as we find out, we'll post the answers here.
Let me call on our experienced members @Nailbag, @Dave-1 and @JoeAzza for their recommendations.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Eric
Good Evening @Hopephil1952
I must admit I do not know the answer to a replacement beam. I would go the route of replacing like for like that way I dont need to step outside my skillset.
Length, distance between supports, height you have to play with supports to the floor above all come to mind. I would probarlly err on the side of caution and head towards a builder replacing supporting beams/bearers.
Also is it for an outside deck area or within a roofed space?
Dave
Hi @Hopephil1952
There are a lot of LVL Dimensions and only the very common ones tend to be stocked by Bunnings. The size your after would need to be ordered in as its an older hardwood dimension. Follow @EricL advice and speak to the trade desk team members. The ones sitting at the computers handle these types of enquiries.
If no luck there, you will need to go to a a local independent timber & hardware merchant to have it ordered in. You will need to know its length though you will need to select the next size up from the standard lengths they come in. This is an example of ones available in your size from a timber merchant.
If you haven't already, you will need to consider how your instead to support the sub-floor whilst the beam is being replaced. You can't afford for the floor level to drop without causing a flow-on affect within the internal space above.
Nailbag
Hi @Hopephil1952,
A 100 × 75 mm solid timber floor joist is roughly equivalent in strength to about a 90 × 45 mm Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) beam, because LVL is stronger and stiffer than typical structural pine. In practice, builders often use 90 × 45 mm LVL to achieve similar or better performance, although the exact equivalent still depends on the joist span, spacing, and floor loads. Mitchell
