Support Beam

Support beams are a Manufactured item in TFCraft. The are used support the ceilings of mines to prevent cave-in's, though they can also be used for decoration. Support beams, when properly placed, can also prevent cobblestone and dirt from falling, though sand and gravel will still fall in the presence of support beams.

Crafting

There are two types of support beams in TFCraft: Vertical and Horizontal. They are both created out of two logs, though the positioning of the logs determines the type of beam produced. Any tier saw can be used, but axes are not able to craft beams. Both logs must be the same type, but any log in TFCraft can be used. Different types of wood will result in different types of beams, but this difference is purely cosmetic as they are work equally the same. Beams of different types of woods can attach to one another.

Vertical Support Beam

			8

Horizontal Support Beam

			File:Grid HBeam (Chestnut).png8

Usage

Example of support beam holding up cobblestone. Notice the blocks on the far edges weren't supported and fell.

Support beams are used to prevent cave-ins and to hold up cobblestone and dirt. In order for a support beam to do that, you must have both vertical and horizontal beams. Vertical beams by themselves cannot prevent cave-ins and horizontal beams cannot attach to anything but vertical beams and other horizontal beams. Vertical beams must also be placed on a solid block that has another solid block below it (no stairs, slabs or air). Note that while horizontal beams can attach to other horizontal beams, they can only do so if close enough to an attached vertical beam. That is, if you place a vertical beam and start attaching horizontal beams to that vertical beam, you will only be able to place 4 horizontal beams. The 5th beam will not allow itself to attach.

Maximum area a single vertical beam can support with 4 horizontal beams on each side.

A single horizontal support beam will hold up and prevent cave-ins in a 4x4 area on it's z-level and the z-level above it. This means 4 horizontal beams connected to one vertical beam and prevent cave-ins up to 8 blocks away from the vertical support beam in that direction. Note that the support beams will only work on the z-level it's placed on and one above it. If there's ceilings around that are higher or lower than that, mining in that area can still cause a cave-in from those ceiling blocks.

When placing vertical and horizontal beams, it's likely one will want to spread them as far apart as possible to get the maximum amount of ground space and conserve as much wood as possible. With one vertical beam able to attach up to 4 horizontal beams to any side, the maximum distance a second vertical support beam can be placed is 9 blocks away. However, this falls outside of the supported range of the previously placed beams. Because of this, it's recommend to either space your vertical beams out every 8 blocks or use a temporary vertical beam until you can place the second vertical beam. With the second vertical beam placed, the temporary vertical beam can be removed as it is no longer needed.

Digging Up With Support Beams

Since support beams can hold up one z-level above them, digging up safely can be done using them. To do this will require a 3 block area that's 2 blocks tall (either 2x2x2 or 3x2x1 WxHxL will work). Start by placing down 2 vertical beams and then one horizontal beam, creating an upside-down L. This allows for the ceiling directly above the beam to be removed and can be done now. Once one layer of the ceiling is removed, place an additional vertical and horizontal beam on top of your previously placed beams. Ladders are useful here to go up the z-level with the support beams. Once that is done, an additional layer directly above the support beam can be removed. Repeat these steps to obtain your desired vertical height, but do not dig out more than one vertical layer at a time as that could result in a cave-in. Note: It is possible to place horizontal beams on top of vertical beams, but vertical beams will not go on top of horizontal beams. If you can't place a vertical beam, check you have not placed a horizontal beam where a vertical beam should go.