Then "it" happened my worst fear came true...the beam the builder inserted was not strong enough to carry the roof, and it broke!

It sounded like 2 gunshots going of and after inspection the noise I saw the beam cracked!
Luckily we acted quickly and propped the roof before any further damage could occur, and before the roof caved in!

This time around I did not trust anybody and I hired my own engineer to specify the beam, and the builder had to comply.

The new beam was 3 times thicker and 1/3 higher.

Below is the pictures of the operation to take out the broken beam and reinsert the new stronger one.

After the new beam was inserted we had an earth quake that measured 3.6 on the Richter scale, and everything is still in tact.

So now it should hold!!!

The old beam out and the roof supported waiting for the new beam

The had to break it out the wall

The other side of the wall

The new beam  inserted into place, plastered and painted to match.

Close up of the left hand side

Close up of the right hand side.