Unit 48: Structural Behaviour and Detailing for Construction

Timber Beam, Joist or Lintels:

Design to BS 5268: Part 2: 2002
12.1 Introduction
In the design of timber beam, joist or lintels which is based on the permissible
stress philosophy, the following should be considered.

12.2 Design Loading

Calculate the design loads which are based on the values given in BS 6399: Part
1: 1996 for dead loads and imposed loads and in BS 399-2: 1997 for wind loads.

12.3 Permissible Stress and Modulus of Elasticity

Permissible Stress = Grade Stress Modification Factors

Grade stress is normally taken from Tables 8 and 10 of BS 5268 for service
classes 1 and 2. See tables 1, 2 and 3 below.

Grade stress values for service class 3 obtained by multiplying the values in
Tables 8 and 10 of BS 5268 including moduli by K2 from table 16 from BS 5268.

Service class 1: refers to timber with a moisture content 12%. Timber

used internally in a continuously heated building experiencing a
temperature of 20oC and relative humidity of surrounding air exceeding
65% for only a few weeks.
Service class 2: refers to timber with a moisture content of 20%.
Corresponds to a temperature of 20oC and air relative humidity only
exceeds 85% for only a few weeks. This condition applies for covered
buildings.
Service class 3: used for timber externally used and fully exposed.
Moisture content of the timber is > 20%.

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 Unit 48: Structural Behaviour and Detailing for Construction

Table 1: Grade stress for service classes 1 and 2, softwoods, according to BS

4978

Bending Modulus of
Tension Compression Shear
stress Elasticity
parallel parallel parallel parallel
perpendicular
Name Grade to to to b to Mean Minimum
a a to grain
grain grain grain grain
m,g,ll t,g,ll c,g,ll c,g,l- g,ll Emean Emin
2 2 2 2 2 2 2
N/mm N/mm N/mm N/mm N/mm N/mm N/mm
SS 7,5 4,5 7,9 2,1 0,82 10500 7000
Redwood/whitewood
GS; 5,3 3,2 6,8 1,8 0,82 9000 6000
SS; 7,5 4,5 7,9 2,1 0,82 10500 7000
British larch
GS 5,3 3,2 6,8 1,8 0,82 9000 6000
SS 6,8 4,1 7,5 2,1 0,82 10500 7000
British pine
GS 4,7 2,9 6,1 1,8 0,82 9000 6000
SS 5,7 3,4 6,1 1,6 0,64 8000 5000
British spruce
GS 4,1 2,5 5,2 1,4 0,64 6500 4500
SS 6,2 3,7 6,6 2,4 0,88 11000 7000
Douglas fir
GS 4,4 2,6 5,2 2,1 0,88 9500 6000
SS 9 5,4 9,5 2,4 1,03 11000 7500
Parana pine
GS 6,4 3,8 8,1 2,2 1,03 9500 6000
SS 10,5 6,3 11 3,2 1,16 13500 9000
Pitch pine
GS 7,4 4,4 9,4 2,8 1,16 11000 7500
SS 5,7 3,4 6,1 1,7 0,63 8500 5500
western red cedar
GS 4,1 2,5 5,2 1,6 0,63 7000 4500
SS 7,5 4,5 7,9 2,4 0,85 11000 7500
Douglas fir-larch
GS 5,3 3,2 6,8 2,2 0,85 10000 6000

Hem-fir (Canada SS 7.5 4.5 7.9 1.9 0.68 11000 7500

and USA) GS 5.3 3.2 6.8 1.7 0.68 9000 6000

Spruce-pine-fir SS 7.5 4.5 7.9 1.8 0.68 10000 6500

(Canada and USA) GS 5.3 3.2 6.8 1.6 0.68 8500 5500

Sitka Spruce SS 6.6 4.0 7.0 1.7 0.66 10000 6500

(Canada) GS 4.7 2.8 6.0 1.5 0.66 8000 5500

Western SS 6.6 4.0 7.0 1.7 0.66 9000 6000

Whitewoods (USA) GS 4.7 2.8 6.0 1.5 0.66 7500 5000
SS 9.6 5.8 10.2 2.5 0.98 12500 8500
Southern pine (USA)
GS 6.8 4.1 8.7 2.2 0.98 10500 7000

(Source: Table 10, BS 5268-2: 1996 (British Standards Institute))

a
Stresses applicable to timber 300mm deep (or wide): for other section sizes
see 2.10.6 and 2.12.2 of BS 5268.
b
When specifically prohibiting wane at bearing areas, the SS grade compression
perpendicular to grain stress may be multiplied by 1.33 and used for all grades.

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 Unit 48: Structural Behaviour and Detailing for Construction

Table 2: Stress classes of softwood, visual inspection

Strength Classes
Standard Name
C14 C16 C18 C24
Imported
Redwood GS SS
Whitewood GS SS
Western red cedar GS SS
Douglas fir-larch (Canada and USA) GS SS
Parana pine GS SS
Spruce-pine-fir (Canada and USA) GS SS
Western Whitewoods (USA) GS SS
Southern pine (USA) GS SS
British Grown
British larch GS SS
British pine GS
British spruce GS SS
Douglas fir GS SS

Table 3: Grade stress and properties for C14 to D70, services 1 and 2

Shear Modulus of
Bending Tension Compression Compression
parallel elasticity Characteristic Average
parallel parallel parallel perpendicular
Strength to grain to grain to densityb densityb
to grain to graina Mean Min
Class grain
m,g,ll t,g,ll c,g,ll c,g,l- c,g,l- g,ll Emean Emin k mean
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3
N/mm N/mm N/mm N/mm N/mm N/mm N/mm kg/m kg/m3
C14 4,1 2,5 5,2 2,1 1,6 0,6 6800 4600 290 350
C16 5,3 3,2 6,8 2,2 1,7 0,67 8800 5800 310 370
C18 5,8 3,5 7,1 2,2 1,7 0,67 9100 6000 320 380
C22 6,8 4,1 7,5 2,3 1,7 0,71 9700 6500 340 410
C24 7,5 4,5 7,9 2,4 1,9 0,71 10800 7200 350 420
C27 9,5 6 8,2 2,5 2 1,1 11500 8200 370 450
C30 11 6,6 8,6 2,7 2,2 1,2 12300 8200 380 460
C35 12 7,2 8,7 2,9 2,4 1,3 13400 9000 400 480
C40 13 7,8 8,7 3 2,6 1,4 14500 10000 420 500
D30 9 5,4 8,1 2,8 2,2 1,4 9500 6000 530 640
D35 11 6,6 8,6 3,4 2,6 1,7 10000 6500 560 670
D40 12,5 7,5 12,6 3,9 3 2 10800 7500 590 700
D50 16 9,6 15,2 4,5 3,5 2,2 15000 12600 650 780
D60 18 10,8 18 5,2 4 2,4 18500 15600 700 840
D70 23 13,8 23 6 4,6 2,6 21000 18000 900 1080

(Source: Based on tables 8 and 9, BS 5268: 2002)

a
The higher value may be used when the specification specifically prohibits wane
at bearing areas.
b
Use the average density when calculating the wood dead loads.

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 Unit 48: Structural Behaviour and Detailing for Construction

12.4 Permissible Bending Stress

Permissible bending stress, m,adm,|| = m,g,||K2K3K7K8

where K2, K3, K7 and K8 are defined as follows.

K2, moisture content (Clause 2.6.1, BS 5268)

For service grades 1 and 2: K2 = 1.0
For service grade 3: K2 from table 4 below or table 16 of BS 5268.
Table 4: Modification factor K2

Basic Properties K2
Bending parallel to grain 0.8
Compression parallel to grain 0.6
Compression perpendicular to grain 0.6
Shear parallel to grain 0.9
Mean and minimum modulus of elasticity 0.8
(Source: based on table 16, BS 5268: 2002)

K3, duration of loading (Table 17, BS 5268)

For various duration of loading, K3 is given in table 17 of BS 5268. K3 for the
following loading duration is given as shown in table 5 below.
Table 5: K3 values
Long-term loading (Ex. dead + permanent imposed).
1
Example: Floors in a building.
Medium-term (e.g. dead + snow, dead + temporary imposed).
1.25
Example: a roof for a garage or a roof for a building.
For short- and very short-term loadings respectively, see table
1.5 and 1.75
17, BS 5268.
(Source: based on table 17, BS 5268: 2002)

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 Unit 48: Structural Behaviour and Detailing for Construction

K7, depth factor (Clause 2.10.6, BS 5268)

Grade stress in bending should be multiplied by K7. For solid section with a given
h (depth) K7 can be taken/calculated from table 6 below.
Table 6: K7 values

K7 h (depth)
1.0 h = 300 mm
1.17 h 72 mm

( ) 72 mm < h < 300 mm

( )
h > 300 mm
( )

K8, load sharing factor (Clause 2.9, BS 5268)

K8 = 1.1 when four or more members such as beams and joists are spaces 610
mm centre to centre and act together to resist the applied loads.

Table 7: Geometric properties of sawn softwood

Based on timber with a 20% moisture content

Section Moment of Radius of

Target Section Modulus
Area Area Gyration
Sizes
About x-x About y-y About x-x About y-y mm mm
3 2 3 3 3 3 6 4 6 4
mm 10 mm 10 mm 10 mm 10 mm 10 mm mm mm
22x100 2,20 36,6 8,1 1,83 0,089 28,9 6,35
36x100 3.60 60.0 21.6 3.00 0.389 28.9 10.4
36x125 4.50 93.8 27.0 5.86 0.486 36.1 10.4
36x150 5.40 135 32.4 10.1 0.583 43.3 10.4
38x75 2.85 35.6 18.1 1.34 0.343 21.7 11.0
38x100 3,80 63,3 24,1 3,17 0,457 28,9 11,0
38x125 4.75 99.0 30.1 6.86 0.572 36.1 11.0
38x150 5,70 143 36,1 10,7 0,686 43,3 11,0
38x175 6,54 194 42,1 17,0 0,800 50,5 11,0
38x200 7,60 253 48,1 25,3 0,915 57,7 11,0
38x225 8,55 321 54,2 36,1 1,03 65,0 11,0
44x75 3.30 41.3 24.2 1.55 0.532 21.7 12.7
44x100 4.40 73.3 32.3 3.67 0.71 28.9 12.7
44x125 5.40 115 7.16 7.16 0.887 36.1 12.7
44x150 6.60 165 48.4 12.4 1.06 43.3 12.7
44x175 7.70 225 56.5 19.7 1.24 50.5 12.7
44x200 8.80 293 64.5 29.3 1.42 57.7 12.7
44x225 9.90 371 72.6 41.8 1.60 65.0 12.7
44x250 11.0 458 80.7 27.3 1.77 72.2 12.7

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44x300 13.2 660 96.8 99.0 2.13 86.6 13.6

47x75 3,53 44,1 27,6 1,65 0,649 21,7 13,6
47x100 4,70 78,3 36,8 3,92 0,865 28,9 13,6
47x125 5,88 122 46,0 7,65 1,08 36,1 13,6
47x150 7,05 176 55,2 13,2 1,30 43,3 13,6
47x175 8,23 240 64,4 21,0 1,51 50,5 13,6
47x200 9,40 313 73,6 31,3 1,73 57,7 13,6
47x225 10,6 397 82,8 44,6 1,95 65,0 13,6
47x250 11,8 490 92,0 61,2 2,16 72,2 13,6
47x300 14,1 705 110 106 2,60 86,6 13,6
50x75 3.75 46.9 31.3 1.76 0.781 21.7 14.4
50x100 5.00 83.3 41.7 4.17 1.04 28.9 14.4
50x125 6.25 130 52.1 8.14 1.30 36.1 14.4
50x150 7.50 188 62.5 14.1 1.56 43.3 14.4
50x175 8.75 255 72.9 22.3 1.82 50.5 14.4
50x200 10.0 333 83.3 33.3 2.08 57.7 14.4
50x225 11.3 422 93.8 47.5 2.34 65.0 14.4
50x250 12.5 521 104 65.1 2.60 72.2 14.4
50x300 15.0 750 125 113 3.13 86.6 14.4
63x100 6.30 105 66.2 5.25 2.08 28.9 18.2
63x125 7.88 164 82.7 10.3 2.60 36.1 18.2
63x150 9,45 236 99,2 17,7 3,13 43,3 18,2
63x175 11,0 322 116 28,1 3,65 50,5 18,2
63x200 12,6 420 132 42,0 4,17 57,7 18,2
63x225 14,2 532 149 59,8 4,69 65,0 18,2
75x100 7,50 125 93,8 6,25 3,52 28,9 21,7
75x125 9.38 195 117 12.2 4.39 36.1 21.7
75x150 11,3 281 141 21,1 5,27 43,3 21,7
75x175 13,1 383 164 33,5 6,15 50,5 21,7
75x200 15,0 500 188 50,0 7,03 57,7 21,7
75x225 16,9 633 211 71,2 7,91 65,0 21,7
75x250 18,8 781 234 97,7 8,79 72,2 21,7
75x300 22,5 1130 281 169 10,5 86,6 21,7
100x100 10,0 167 167 8,33 8,33 28,9 28,9
100x150 15,0 375 250 28,1 12,5 43,3 28,9
100x200 20,0 667 333 66,7 16,7 57,7 28,9
100x225 22,5 844 375 94,9 18,8 65,0 28,9
100x250 25,0 1010 417 130 20,8 72,2 28,9
100x300 30,0 1500 500 225 25,0 86,6 28,9
150x150 20,0 563 563 42,2 42,2 43,3 43,3
150x200 25.5 1000 750 100 56.3 57.7 43.3
150x300 30,0 2250 1130 338 84,4 86,6 43,3
200x200 40.0 1330 1330 133 133 57.7 57.7
250x250 62.5 2600 2600 326 326 72.2 72.2
300x300 90,0 4500 4500 675 675 86,6 86,6

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 Unit 48: Structural Behaviour and Detailing for Construction

Practical Example 1
The next figure shows a plan and the second floor details of an extension to a
domestic dwelling house. Provide structural calculations to arrive at a suitable
size of the timber floor joists and the beam using timber strength class C16
under service 1. Spacing between the joists = 600 mm centre to centre. The
floor has an effective span of 3m. Imposed loads are equal to 1.5 kN/m2 and
dead loads including weight of joists are equal to 0.43 kN/m2. While choosing
the right beam check also if it passes the deflection standards. If not, you will
need to choose again.

Joist Beam
3.2 m

600 mm

3m 3m

Answer

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