Flitch Beams
What is a Flitched Beam?
A flitch beam (or flitched beam) is a compound beam used in the construction of houses, decks, and other primarily wood-framestructures. Typically, the flitch beam is made up of a steel plate sandwiched between two wood beams, the three layers being held together with bolts. In that common form it is sometimes referenced as a steel flitch beam. Further alternating layers of wood and steel can be used to produce an even stronger beam. The metal plate(s) within the beam are known as flitch plates.
The Creative Space flitched beam is a composite beam formed with a steel plate sandwiched between timber. The beam is manufactured with shot fired nails, fired through the timber into the steel.
The use of the Creative Space flitched beam system eliminates the variations in timber performance and allows large openings to be spanned, such as garage doors, while keeping the lintel depth to an acceptable minimum.
Each beam is custom-made to measure and can be cambered to suit the application.
Advantages
Because flitch beams are significantly stronger than wood alone, they:
- require less depth than a wood-only beam of the same strength
- are much lighter than a steel beam of the same size
- can still be attached (e.g. nailed) to the rest of a wooden structure
Flitch beams can also be created from existing in-situ joists or beams permitting easier renovations.
