Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 29, 2013 11:07 pm I have a wacky question for you - are most houses built with timber or steel beams? Is it possible to specify steel? If so, what would be the impact on cost? Re: Beams 2Jul 30, 2013 4:16 am It all depends on span and load. Timber is the usual material of choice for domestic construction as the spans are not large and the loads are small (people and a bit of furniture). If you get into commercial stuff such as offices or warehouses or factories then the loads are much greater and steel or concrete is the norm. The cost of steel or concrete is greater than timber in a volume sense but the strength is greater and if the spans are large enough it becomes more economical to use the stronger, more expensive material. Re: Beams 3Jul 30, 2013 8:45 am Adding to what The How To Studio said, what's used in your home also depends on the builder & what they're used to. One builder we spoke to swore by "manufactured wood" (I think that was the term he used - basically a solid chunk of plywood all mashed together & more suitable for long spans than your average wooden beam for building purposes) beams because (he claimed) they're easier to work with while being just as strong (for a normal house) and cheaper ... another builder just specified steel because that's what they'd always used (and the steel added $20k to the price of building the house - and there wasn't that much of it). THanks , l got a licensed building inspector to look at the rust, he said its just surface rust and it would take many years to become a problem because the beams are so… 22 28031 if l cannot get a sandblaster would a sander with sandpaper be better then a wire brush 4 7337 |