Residential Steel Beam common practice
Residential Steel Beam common practice
(OP)
I work in Colorado. When you use steel beam (ie. W10X), what maximum or maybe comfortable to work with length do you usually specify? Sometimes I wonder if I should just continue the beam or stop it at a column and specify other smaller/bigger beam (with connection on top of the column).






RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
www.SlideRuleEra.net
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
Suggest that you consider simple spans, but see if economics will allow using one beam size for all applications. In the field, getting various beam sizes mixed up and putting them in the wrong places is a very real possibility.
If you must use different sizes, one way to help minimize field errors is to try to use only one weight beam for each nominal beam height, ie. one size W8, one size W10, one size W12, etc.
www.SlideRuleEra.net
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
For residential, I would probably break a 70' foot span into three spans with shear splices.
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
The columns are going to be rectangular steel pipes. I like to avoid wood/lvl column on heavy steel. So if you have 3 simple spans, they still have to splice the beams right by the support right? If they have to do this anyway, why not just design it as 1 continous beam (smaller member) and splice it at 0 moment (2 splices).
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
I do have to say that I have specified cantilevered beams with a drop in span before on residential. It's the sort of lego-like construction that can appreal to a contractor's common sense quite safely. These guys are virtually never dumb, just busy doing the stuff we don't have to deal with. I would not do that on such a long project though, and agree completely with UcfSE and SlideRuleEra.
Good luck,
YS
B.Eng (Carleton)
Working in New Zealand, thinking of my snow covered home...
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
How many folks bear steel beams on built up wood stud columns? I have a philosophy issue with bearing a stronger material on a weaker material, even if the code stresses are OK. Steel beam gets a steel column.
I saw a steel beam bearing on a LVL beam a few months ago "designed" by another SE. It passed the framing inspection, and the stresses looked Ok from a cursory view, but I thought it looked real strange...
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
Those beam sizes sound really heavy for residential applications, and are not the most efficient beam sections. Are you being limited by headroom or something? On the other hand, they have enormous flanges which should help the unbraced length issue.
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
My experience in the mountains (resorts) and Grand Junction is.....Depends on the contractor, if I can know this. A lot of the upper priced residences are essentially small commercial, from a structural standpoint. Cranes are commenly used and some amount of steel construction is also commen. I go for continuous lengths unless uplift becomes a problem. I also tend to minimize mixing of sizes due to the field connection problems.
I have also been known to show an alternate size/assembly. I have found this can create minor problems of communication but, it usually has served to focus the contractors on what can be done and they can seriously consider the consequences of each alternate.
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
Yes - those beams seem a bit big for residential construction. About the biggest I have ever needed was something like a W10 x 33 - maybe W12 x45
Don't forget that many times those beams are wrestled into place by hand. So shorter simple span designs make sense. Max trucking length is about 48'. Typical residential post spacing is usually in the 10' to 15' range - though I have done up to 25' for a pool table room. A column and a few cubic feet of concrete footing are rather cheap.
Keeping them the same size also makes sense - if the dollar penalty is not too big. Ever try to figure out if it is a W8x10 or W8x13 -- not easy.
Always use steel columns with concrete walls - but I usually put second floor steel beams on wood columns if using wood stud walls. That way - when the wood walls shrink AND they will - the beam will come with them - or hopefully.
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
For those who like to use steel columns (only) to support steel beam:
I have found it impractical sometimes to require that the steel beam run all the way down to bearing on steel or concrete. When it is necessary to bear on wood, I design a large steel base plate (often with stiffeners) to "spread" the load out on the wood plates.
Do you have similar expereince with this condition? The steel columns have alot of capacity but if bearing on wood plates, compressoion perp to grain is a factor.
On this same note, do you find problems with differential shortening where steel columns (bearing on stel and concrete) don't shorten but bearing wood walls on wood plates and blocking etc. do shorten due to drying effects? I understand that the studs themselves don't shorten apprecialbly but when there are wood plates and joists in the column load path, the shortening can be a factor. I have seen this particularly where tile floors occur partly on an all steel support and partly on an all wood support when the different materials are in close proximity to each other.
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
Houseguy, the only time I find it impractical is when I have a steel beam with tiny load at the support. sometime I use bent steel beam for weird roof structure or I use it for deflection due to long span. Then the load at the support is only 3 kips or less. Then I will use stud pack instead.
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice
RE: Residential Steel Beam common practice