Any engineers out there?
I’m trying to work out how many columns to use to hold up the gantry rail section that the roof rolls onto. I would prefer the minimum number, but obviously don’t want to end up with an unstable structure that I have to retro fix.
Roof is 7m x 5.5m and will weigh around 600kg. The columns will be 140x140 supporting a 190x45 timber on edge with the steel track sitting on top of the timber.
Two columns means a 3.5m span between columns. I could bring the end column in by 1m and cantilever the track off the end, so the span drops to 3m. Three columns drops the span to around 2.3m.
Any guidance will be appreciated.