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Re: Beams, Pilings and SizingFrom: info@builderswebsource.com CommentsWhen designing a foundation, whether it's for a house or a cabin as you propose, several factors come into play. First, if you plan to use pilings, you must know something about the soil and its load-bearing capacity. In the case of drilled-in-place piers, the skin friction of the soil is a key factor as is the soil expansion index. Typically, these figures are provided by a geotechnical company after drilling test samples. These factors influence the size, depth, and spacing of piers, taking into account specific loads due to both the structure, as well as snow or other live loads. If you're not familiar with structural principles, we recommend that you hire a licensed structural engineer to determine the size and type of foundation support members. Mixing steel and wood is sometimes challenging, a typical situation you face anytime dissimilar materials must be structurally connected. However, a good primer on structural design is available here on Builders Websource in our TECHNOTES section. Also, inexpensive software solutions for structural design such as BEAMCHEK are also extremely valuable for computing the size and spans of wood and steel beams. If you plan to use engineered lumber, such as Trus Joist or similar, each manufacturer offers span tables based on typical loads encountered in residential construction. The allowable span is based on safety. However, to ensure a quality feel to the structure, we always recommend designing for a very stiff floor (such as maximum total load deflection of SPAN/480 to SPAN/720). Builders Websource
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