Rules-of-thumb for

Beams and Columns

Class Instructor :
RINO D.A. FERNANDEZ

SITECAST CONCRETE COLUMNS:

SIZE
200 x 200mm
300 x 300mm
400 x 400mm
500 x 500mm
700 x 700mm
900 x 900mm

TOTAL TRIBUTARY AREA

150 sq.m.
300 sq.m.
450 sq.m.
600 sq.m.
900 sq.m.
2,000 sq.m.

SITECAST CONCRETE BEAMS:

DEPTH

WIDTH

SPAN

15 (400mm)
30 (750mm)
45 (1150mm)
60 (1500mm)

5 (120mm)
10 (250mm)
15 (400mm)
20 (500mm)

6.00 meters
12.00 m
18.00 m
24.00 m

PRECAST CONCRETE COLUMNS:

SIZE
200 x 200mm
300 x 300mm
400 x 400mm
500 x 500mm
700 x 700mm
900 x 900mm

TOTAL TRIBUTARY AREA

150 sq.m.
300 sq.m.
450 sq.m.
600 sq.m.
900 sq.m.
2,000 sq.m.

PRECAST CONCRETE BEAMS:

DEPTH

WIDTH

SPAN

12 (300mm)
24 (600mm)
30 (750mm)
36 (900mm)
48 (1200mm)

8 (200mm)
8 (200mm)
10 (250mm)
12 (300mm)
16 (400mm)

6.00 meters
11.00 m
14.00 m
16.00 m
20.00 m

POSTTENSIONED CONCRETE BEAMS:

DEPTH

WIDTH

SPAN

15 (400mm)
30 (750mm)
45 (1150mm)
60 (1500mm)

8 (200mm)
10 (250mm)
15 (400mm)
20 (500mm)

10.00 meters
18.00 m
28.00 m
36.00 m

WOOD COLUMNS:

SIZE
150 x 150mm
200 x 200mm
250 x 250mm
300 x 300mm
350 x 350mm
400 x 400mm

TOTAL TRIBUTARY AREA (max)

50 sq.m. (Residential only)
100 sq.m.
180 sq.m.
280 sq.m.
380 sq.m.
450 sq.m.

COLUMN ANCHORAGE:

COLUMN ANCHORAGE:

WOOD BEAMS:

DEPTH

WIDTH

SPAN

6 (150mm)
8 (200mm)
10 (250mm)
12 (300mm)
14 (350mm)
16 (400mm)
18 (450mm)
20 (500mm)
24 (600mm)

10 (250mm)

2.40 meters
3.50 m
5.00 m
6.00 m
7.30 m
8.50 m
9.80 m
9.80 m
9.80 m

COLUMN & BEAM CONNECTION:

COLUMN & BEAM CONNECTION:

GLUE LAMINATED BEAMS:

DEPTH

WIDTH

SPAN

6 (150mm)
8 (200mm)
10 (250mm)
12 (300mm)
14 (350mm)
16 (400mm)
18 (450mm)
20 (500mm)
24 (600mm)

10 (250mm)

3.00 meters
4.00 m
5.00 m
6.00 m
7.00 m
8.00 m
9.00 m
10.00 m
13.00 m

GLUE LAMINATED BEAMS:

DEPTH

WIDTH

SPAN

30 (750mm)
36 (900mm)
42 (1050mm)
48 (1200mm)

10 (250mm)

16.00 meters
20.00 m
24.00 m
28.00 m

STEEL OPEN-WEB JOISTS:

DEPTH

SPAN

24 (600mm)
48 (1200mm)
72 (1800mm)
96 (2400mm)

16.00 meters
30.00 m
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