Wood beams have their downside, though. Dimensional lumber shrinks as it dries, especially in the arid Colorado climate. These special handling procedures definitely add to the cost of the building.
Steel needs fabricator-formed holes for bolts, which means careful architectural pre-planning.Īdditionally, since steel is considerably heavier than any similar-sized wood product, the beams will require special handling with heavy equipment or a crane.
Also, attaching your other components to wood of either type is easy compared to steel. Laminated veneer lumber (LVL), composed of several layers of glued plywood comes pre-made from a factory but still costs less than structural steel I-beams. Dimensional lumber beams, composed of several horizontally attached studs, can be built on-site, to save on supplier costs. An exception may be in areas where forests are few and far between and steel manufacturing is copious (think Australia, not Colorado). Wood, whether it’s dimensional lumber (whole wood) or engineered, usually costs less in terms of both the material and labor to install. So, let’s take the four categories and go over the pros and cons for steel beams vs. Each material enjoys certain benefits and a few disadvantages. The answer depends on your budget, design goals, construction schedule and sustainability preferences. If you’re building a new home, or deeply renovating the one you have, you may wonder whether to use steel beams vs.
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