Photo

wondering if you got what you paid for?

Did you specify that you wanted it to be finished?

This looks like it was meant to be merely a support beam. Who placed the order? ask them!

Can you show it from further away, in more context to the room?

Hi Lyn, thanks so much for your message. When you say it looks merely like a support beam, do you mean not looking good at the same time? I live in Spain and I feel like everything works so differently here. I don't know what happened to be perfectly honest. :-(

Can you back up and take a picture of the whole space. It's hard to give advice without spatial context.

More photos added!

I've never seen a beam like that with pieces of plate tack-welded to the bottom, and I can't tell from your single photo how beefy it is. At the moment, I'm dubious about its load carrying abilities. What is the length of the span and the profile and dimensions of the cross-section?

Hi there, it's 7 metres long and has a pilar two thirds of the way along. I don't know profile or measurements but can look for them

Is the ceiling staying exposed? I personally like the look of the beam with the ceiling. The beam looks like it's been there forever and your ceilings are high enough that it works. I'd leave it as is or paint it black.

It looks like you've got parallel beams that have been connected to act as one unit structurally. This was likely done to avoid the need for a larger beam, which would have come down lower.

I think we can only spaek for stuff here not in Spain but ask the people doing the work what kind of finish you can choose for that beam. No beams for support are pretty they are usually capped with something. I think the place is still being renovated so long way off for finished look but ask now.

I could see putting a flat plate along the bottom to make it look more solid, but I would nto do anything strange like add lighting to it.

It looks to me like they used two c channels as support, but then spaced them a bit apart. then the infilled between the two c channels with short lengths of plate steel. That will hold some serious weight.

Structurally i see nothing wrong with it, its just ugly, but i think it was built to be boxed in by boards, that was why the short lengths of plate were added. Its ugly because the beam was just never finished with wood trim.

It is a simple fix; countersink some holes and use self-tapping screws to affix the lumber cladding around the steel. then plug the holes, sand flush and paint to suit. It will look like a wooden beam then, but much stronger.

Those rounded brick ceilings are quite incredible. Do you intend to keep them exposed? If so, I really understand the desire to keep the beam exposed. If not, I’d call it all a loss and box in the beam. Part of what looks so bad is all the different colorations from the different little squares. It would be great in an industrial loft but not in this smaller space. What do you think of painting it or were you looking for a raw steel effect? I think painting would help a lot. The little squarrs will then look more like texture and pattern and have a sense of uniformity.

Good morning everyone, thank you to you all for your replies and thoughts. I'm really grateful and feel much better. These things are hard! We are looking at putting a plate along the bottom. Regarding the curved stone ceiling, that's traditional in Catalonia and yes we're keeping it exposed, and the beam too. And with everyone's judgements on the type of beam and why it's been done like this, you're right. It was this on one 30cm lower. Onwards and upwards. Thank you all again.

Good morning everyone, thank you to you all for your replies and thoughts. I'm really grateful and feel much better. These things are hard! We are looking at putting a plate along the bottom. Regarding the curved stone ceiling, that's traditional in Catalonia and yes we're keeping it exposed, and the beam too. And with everyone's judgements on the type of beam and why it's been done like this, you're right. It was this on one 30cm lower. Onwards and upwards. Thank you all again.

If you want exposed steel beam but don't like the finish of this one, if you can afford it, why not have it wrapped with metal? Seems like they could fabricate a steel wrap, same as with wood.

Well, if you wanted an industrial look you certainly got it! I suspect that if you paint it most of the ugliness will disappear and you'll get your industrial vibe. A grinding wheel will smooth any excessively blobby welds.

I think if you could just have a single steel plate attached to the bottom it could be a handsome raw-looking beam.

In the US, the current default interior is white drywall boxes with white trim, and even "industrial loft" conversions get very sanitized interiors, so I don't thing there is much appreciation lately for true "industrial" interiors.

You said it @palimpsest. I find it horribly depressing to go into an old factory / loft space and see drywall everywhere. It makes me want to take a sledgehammer to it and reveal the history.