Norway spruce glulam beams with artificial horizontal slits of different length and depth were reinforced using self-tapping screws and threaded steel rods in order to restore their load-carrying capacity and stiffness. The study aimed at evaluating the effects of strength and stiffness of the applied reinforcing elements on the load-carrying capacity and stiffness of glulam beams after retrofitting. Self-tapping screws and threaded steel rods of different diameter have been evaluated in the study and different numbers of reinforcing elements have been applied. Shear failure of the beams with artificial slits of different depth was provoked in loading cycles with stepwise installation of the reinforcing elements in the beam parts failed in the preceding test. The reinforcing effect of the tested self-tapping screws and threaded steel rods reached and partly exceeded the estimated level calculated with selected analytical models. Unfavourable structural behaviour arose in some cases from crack opening during installation of the rods causing a very low initial stiffness. Comparison of test results to calculations of stiffness and load-carrying capacity of the reinforced beams applying the γ-method, the shear analogy method and a truss model revealed that the γ-method and the shear analogy method provided the best estimates of strength/stiffness of the reinforced beams.