Wood beams can be treated with borate chemicals to minimize wood rot and prevent infestation by insects that can't harm steel. If you want to fasten something to a steel beam, it's a challenge.

Join the support beam and wood load-bearing post by toenailing them together and attaching two metal T-braces to opposite sides of the beam with galvanized 10d box nails.

Non-structural engineered wood can be used for the web of a load-bearing beam because the vertical web serves just one purpose: the web keeps the top flange separated from the bottom flange; as ...

Q. I'm getting ready to build a large room addition that needs a beam to support the floor joists. I've been told that a wood beam will work, but I've always seen steel I-beams in other houses. Is ...

In a house that has an unfinished basement, finding the beams— typically a metal I-beam or a multi-board wood beam—is a good indication of where the weight of the house is resting.

Q: I'm getting ready to build a large room addition that needs a beam to support the floor joists. I've been told that a wood beam will work, but I've always seen steel I-beams in other houses. Is ...

Q: Is it possible to build a multi-story home with no, or few, interior bearing walls or beams? I've looked at lumber span tables and regular lumber doesn't seem to be able to do what I want to be ...

No matter the look of a room’s interior or the style of the decor, exposed ceiling beams can add depth and warmth to a home’s ambiance.

The capabilities and performance of the beam types are similar, but often there are significant differences; for example, sawn wood versus engineered wood versus steel.

That is one advantage of steel over wood when you’re working with materials that are roughly the same size. Pound for pound, steel is so much stronger than wood. What’s fascinating is to see ...