This is a question regarding my own house. I am designing an outdoor deck, and am considering using steel understructure instead of traditional wood. I want to minimize the physical thickness of the structure to enhance visibility from the lower level. The decking surface will be traditional natural cedar.
Is there a rule of thumb which approximates properties of steel beam with dimension lumber? eg what size ibeam performs similar to, say a 2x8 joist?
(I am a retired "swiss army" engineer. I do twenty things, none of them well. Actually, my background is in papermaking and more process oriented)
Thanks for any help!
Bill
Is there a rule of thumb which approximates properties of steel beam with dimension lumber? eg what size ibeam performs similar to, say a 2x8 joist?
(I am a retired "swiss army" engineer. I do twenty things, none of them well. Actually, my background is in papermaking and more process oriented)
Thanks for any help!
Bill