Steel beam cantilevered as substructure for terrace - No structural analysis!

Good morning everyone,

I have the following problem: I have made a plan change to our pool after the fact and installed an underground roller shutter cover. A terrace is to be built over it, and now I need a support surface towards the pool edge.

Free span length 3.80 meters.
Supports left and right planned at 30 cm.
Height structurally limited to max 10 cm for the steel beam + 2 cm concrete all around for embedding.

The steel beam is to be embedded in concrete all around (pretreated with hammer finish to ensure everything holds nicely), so that tiles can be laid on it later.

Now I want to insert a steel beam there but don’t know which one is sufficient. After inquiring with 3 building material suppliers and 2 steel dealers, no one wanted to give me information about which steel beam to use, as they are not allowed to, and I would have to go to a structural engineer.

I don’t want a structural calculation or anything like that here, just your experience/opinion so I can decide myself.

The idea was to install IPE 80 or IPE 100 beams. / Alternatively HEA 100

Here are two example pictures I created to better visualize what I mean.

Side view
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Top view – the steel beam is supposed to be the red one

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Thank you for your help/assessment

I have the following problem, namely I made a plan change afterwards on our pool and installed an underground roller shutter cover. A terrace is to be built over it and now I need a support surface towards the pool edge.

The terrace is supposed to be simultaneously the pool edge seamlessly, and the cover is supposed to stand seriously wet???

The terrace should seamlessly also be the pool edge, and the cover should seriously stand wet ???

Yes, because the cover is specially made for that. And yes, the terrace will be the pool edge but, as visible in the photo, not in direct contact with water.

But that's not my question or problem.

Yes, because the cover is made specifically for that. [...] But that's not my question or problem

I never write my answers only for the questioners, but also for the statistically about ten times larger number of silent readers. And at least they should take to heart the question mark behind whether wet parking of a cover in the standing brackish water of a lagoon is the ultimate wisdom – even if the warranty period is thereby surpassed.

Several questions arise (to me) here: A wooden deck is depicted, ending at the steel beam. A desired "tiling" as the final covering is described. So what now?

I strongly assume that the beam supports itself and the deck. How many people should (may / can) stand on the area of about 3.5m² at most? > There are regulations for that (keyword balcony). How much load will then be on the beam? > You can calculate that yourself. What deflection results from the chosen steel beam (depending on the available height / width) > reference book. Can wood handle it? -> yes (IMHO). Can tiles handle it? -> ? (IMHO rather no), unless flexibly supported. But that is just a layman’s opinion / estimate.

After 10 years (if you install a wooden deck), Bankirai or Bongossi will also be worn out, at least looking unpleasant. Unless you use 50mm or more thickness.

... When I asked 3 building material suppliers and 2 steel dealers, no one wanted to give me information about which steel beam I should use, as they are not allowed to, and I would have to go to a structural engineer... I do not want a structural calculation or something like that here, just your experience / opinion so I can decide for myself. Thank you for your help / assessment

The building material suppliers are well advised to do so. Because just imagine if the beam breaks while 5 people are standing on it and one falls awkwardly and is injured... And exactly those would be reasons to look very carefully at what you are doing.

All layman’s opinion because:
Technical mechanics was never my favorite subject and it is now over 30 years ago :-( But I have already built balconies or terraces myself without statics, so far they are all still standing. P.S. The deflection also depends on whether you can integrally connect the beam form- and force-locking on the left and right.

Well, that would be too risky for me. You should contact a metalworker, for example a staircase builder. They either hire their own structural engineer, calculate it themselves, or have enough experience to size it properly. Furthermore, they are then liable for ensuring it holds. A savings of maybe a few thousand EUR wouldn't be worth the responsibility in the event of possible damage. Or you would have to vastly overdimension it so that it probably wouldn't be cheaper.