There is a beam in the ceiling of my garage to support the bathroom above it.
This beam is composed of three 2x12 laminated beams and two 2x12 boards
and spans about 20 feet. This bathroom has a medium size whirlpool
bathtube and I assume this beam is there to deal with the weight of it
full of water. I have attached a hoist to all five boards with
unistrut about 6 foot from one wall.
I have used this hoist to lift machines weighing about 700lbs.

In the very near future I will need to unload a lathe weighing about
1100-1200 lbs. I am wondering if I need to put a temporary post in the
middle of the garage just to be sure it can hold that much weight.

This weight isn't that much more that the weight of water and or some
people in the room.

Opinions?
chuck

I vote for putting in a temporary post to be sure, 20 foot span is a
long way. Even if the beam would hold the weight, the deflection of the
beam could crack the drywall somewhere. A 4 by 4 would probably be an
adequate post, and not expensive. Just shim it in place, put in a
couple of nails or screws to hold it in place. As to whether your
attachment to the beams is adequate, I will not address, I don't
normally think of Unistrut for loads of more than a few hundred pounds.

Richard



"Charles A. Sherwood" wrote:

There is a beam in the ceiling of my garage to support the bathroom above it.
This beam is composed of three 2x12 laminated beams and two 2x12 boards
and spans about 20 feet. This bathroom has a medium size whirlpool
bathtube and I assume this beam is there to deal with the weight of it
full of water. I have attached a hoist to all five boards with
unistrut about 6 foot from one wall.
I have used this hoist to lift machines weighing about 700lbs.

In the very near future I will need to unload a lathe weighing about
1100-1200 lbs. I am wondering if I need to put a temporary post in the
middle of the garage just to be sure it can hold that much weight.

This weight isn't that much more that the weight of water and or some
people in the room.

Opinions?
chuck