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.

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 ...

Replace a load bearing wall with a microlam beam to create a bigger room.

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 ...

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 ...

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.

More often than not, he says, a two-by-six wall is usually load bearing, with the added thickness there to house larger, thicker beams, wiring, or pipping.

Q. Can you tell me a few things about the wood beam I uncovered while doing a plumbing repair? How is it possible for this beam to carry the load of everything above it? I’m worried it might ...

Dear Angie: How much does it cost to remove a load-bearing wall? In the basement of my home, there is a single concrete beam below the intersection of the living room, dining room and kitchen ...

The wood-concrete composite is combined with the steel-concrete composite in order to exploit the advantages of both structures. This results in a hybrid that meets the demanding requirements of a ...

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.