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 it ...

A load-bearing wall works to support the weight of the structure, while a non load-bearing wall is simply a cosmetic addition. This means that you can remove a non load-bearing wall without any ...

Many renovated buildings replace wood and masonry structural elements with steel. The replacement of heavy wooden roof and floor joists with the lighter steel open-web bar-truss joists is a common ...

The Tampa Bay Times e-Newspaper is a digital replica of the printed paper seven days a week that is available to read on desktop, mobile, and our app for subscribers only. To enjoy the e-Newspaper ...

DEAR TIM: 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.

Welcome back to the "Behold the Beam" series of articles. In part three (Firehouse®, September 2010) of the series, we discussed the first five of the 13 common types of beams that firefighters can ...