What size wood beam for 20', 16', 18', 12', 22', 24', 25', 26' & 30 feet span

Wood Beam horizontal member of wooden frame structure. There are different types of beam RCC concrete beam provided with steel reinforcement, Steel beam made of H mild steel and timber beam made from wood.

Beam is load bearing structure and flexural member of frame structure that supporting the roof load and floor joist that vertical transfer all the incoming dead load, live load and self load of roof and ceiling to the post or column via post- beam joint through development length of structure element to the foundation and finally to the bed of soil.

Size of wood beam depends on span or distance between two support or post, width of house, snow load, live load, dead load, shear forces, stresses, species of wood you’re working with and all the load acting on it.

Wood Beam is structural member subjected to flexural stresses and shear forces. The size of the wood beam describe by width and depth. Width of wood beam are how it is wider and depth is thickness of beam.

Wood beam are governed by the different type of shear forces and stresses. When the wood beam is subjected to loading the bending moment is developed and the moment carrying capacity of the wood beam depends mainly on the depth of the beam.

In this article we mainly know about wood beam size (depth and width). Many species of wood Douglas fir, southern yellow fine, spruce pine fir, others hardwood of different grade of lumber #1, #2 or #3 are used for beam.

Beam size are mainly of 2ply means, the wood beam which are made of laminating of two single ply of thickness 2″ such that 2″ + 2″ = 4″. Their nominal size are double 2×8 (4×8), double 2×10 (4×10), double 2×12 (4×12), or double 2×16 (4×16).

3ply wood beam means the wood beam which are made of laminating of three single ply of thickness 2″. Their nominal size are triple 2×8 (6×8), triple 2×10 (6×10), triple 2×12 (6×12), or triple 2×16 (6×16).

4ply wood beam means the wood beam which are made of laminating of four single ply of thickness 2″. Their nominal size are four 2×8 (8×8), four 2×10 (8×10), four 2×12 (8×12), or four 2×16 (8×16).

5ply wood beam means the wood beam which are made of laminating of five single ply of thickness 2″. Their nominal size are five 2×10 (10×10), five 2×12 (10×12).

A wood beam is a structural support made from different species and grade of wood wood. They are most commonly used in wood frame structures like small houses, although they can be used in other types of construction as well. Beams are designed to resist bending when stressed by weight or forces like high winds

They are included in structural elements like floors and roofs to distribute the weight of the structure and provide support. Historically, wood was the most common construction material in many regions of the world in US, UK, Canada and solid wood beams were a preferred method of structural support.

The type of wood and size of the beam both play a role in how much weight a single wood beam will be able to bear. Highly dense, close-grained woods of different species tend to be preferred because of their increased strength, as well as resistance to insects and rot. The wood beam can be cut in a solid block, I, or H shape, depending on the needs of construction.

In some cases, multiple pieces of wood are stacked and bound to create a single beam. If 2 beam nailed together known as 2 ply beam such as 2-2×10 or 4×10, if 3 beam nailed together known as 3 ply beam such as 3-2×10 or 6×10, if 4 beam nailed together known as 4 ply beam such as 4-2×10 or 8×10 and if 5 beam nailed together known as 5 ply beam such as 5-2×12 or 10×12.

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In this article you know about what size wood beam for 15′, 16′, 18′, 20′, 22′, 24′, 25′, 26′ & 30 feet span and also know wood beam span rule of thumb that help you in better deciding and sizing of wood beam.

What size wood beam for 15′, 16′, 18′, 20′, 22′, 24′, 25′, 26′ & 30 feet span

The rule of thumb for sizing wood beam: For deciding wood beam size a common rule of thumb used for estimating the depth needed for a wood beam is the span in inches/15. The width of the wood beam is commonly 1/3 to 1/2 of the beam depth. Deflection under full load should never exceed 1/360 of the total beam’s span.

What size wood beam do i need for 20 feet span

As per thumb rule thickness of wood beam = Span in inches/ 15, so (20 × 12)/15 = 16 inches, width of the beam = 1/2 of Thickness, 16″/2 = 8″, so, 8″×16″ size wood beam are most suitable for a 20 foot span.

For a 20 foot span, you will need atleast 4-2×16 or 8×16 size of wood beam. Thus, a 4 nailed 2×16 or 4-2×16 or 8×16 size of wood beam can allow to span 20 feet. For a 20-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 16 inches in thickness and 8″ wide (4-2×16) used for residential building or projects.

What size wood beam for 10 feet span

As per thumb rule thickness of wood beam = Span in inches/ 15, so (10 × 12)/15 = 8 inches, width of the beam = 1/2 of Thickness, 8″/2 = 4″, rounding to 3 nail, so, 6″×8″ size wood beam are most suitable for a 10 foot span.

For a 10 foot span, you will need atleast 3-2×8 or 6×8 size of wood beam. Thus, a 3 nailed 2×8 or 3-2×8 or 6″×8″ size of wood beam can allow to span 10 feet. For a 10-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 8 inches in thickness and 6″ wide (3-2×8) used for residential building or projects.

What size wood beam for 12 feet span

As per thumb rule thickness of wood beam = Span in inches/ 15, so (12 × 12)/15 = 10 inches, width of the beam = 1/2 of Thickness, 10″/2 = 5″, rounding to 3 nail, so, 6″×10″ size wood beam are most suitable for a 12 foot span.

● What size header for a 3′, 4′, 5′, 6′, 7′, 8′, 10′ & 12 foot span

For a 12 foot span, you will need atleast 3-2×10 or 6×10 size of wood beam. Thus, a 3 nailed 2×10 or 3-2×10 or 6″×10″ size of wood beam can allow to span 12 feet. For a 12-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 10 inches in thickness and 6″ wide (3-2×10) used for residential building or projects.

What size wood beam for 14 feet span

As per thumb rule thickness of wood beam = Span in inches/ 15, so (14 × 12)/15 = 12 inches, width of the beam = 1/2 of Thickness, 14″/2 = 7″, rounding to 3 nail, so, 6″×12″ size wood beam are most suitable for a 14 foot span.

For a 14 foot span, you will need atleast 3-2×12 or 6×12 size of wood beam. Thus, a 3 nailed 2×12 or 3-2×12 or 6″×12″ size of wood beam can allow to span 14 feet. For a 14-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 12 inches in thickness and 6″ wide (3-2×12) used for residential building or projects.

What size wood beam for 15 feet span

For a 15 foot span, you will need atleast 3-2×12 or 6×12 size of wood beam. Thus, a 3 nailed 2×12 or 3-2×12 or 6×12 wood beam can allow to span 15 feet. For a 15-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 12 inches in thickness and 6″ wide (3-2×12) used for residential building, wood frame structure or projects.

What size wood beam for 16 feet span

For a 16 foot span, you will need atleast 3-2×14 or 6×14 size of wood beam. Thus, a 3 nailed 2×14 or 3-2×14 or 6×14 wood beam can allow to span 16 feet. For a 16-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 14 inches in thickness and 6″ wide (3-2×14) used for residential building, wood frame structure or projects.

What size wood beam for 18 feet span

For a 18 foot span, you will need atleast 3-2×16 or 6×16 size of wood beam. Thus, a 3 nailed 2×16 or 3-2×16 or 6×16 wood beam can allow to span 18 feet. For a 18-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 16 inches in thickness and 6″ wide (3-2×16) used for residential building, wood frame structure or projects.

What size wood beam for 22 feet span

For a 22 foot span, you will need atleast 3-2×18 or 6×18 size of wood beam. Thus, a 3 nailed 2×18 or 3-2×18 or 6×18 wood beam can allow to span 22 feet. For a 22-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 18 inches in thickness and 6″ wide (3-2×18) used for residential building, wood frame structure or projects.

What size wood beam for 24 feet span

For a 24 foot span, you will need atleast 4-2×18 or 8×18 size of wood beam. Thus, a 4 nailed 2×18 or 4-2×18 or 8×18 wood beam can allow to span 24 feet. For a 24-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 18 inches in thickness and 8″ wide (4-2×18) used for residential building, wood frame structure or projects.

What size wood beam for 25 feet span

For a 25 foot span, you will need atleast 4-2×18 or 8×18 size of wood beam. Thus, a 4 nailed 2×18 or 4-2×18 or 8×18 wood beam can allow to span 25 feet. For a 25-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 18 inches in thickness and 8″ wide (4-2×18) used for residential building, wood frame structure or projects.

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What size wood beam for 26 feet span

For a 26 foot span, you will need atleast 4-2×18 or 8×18 size of wood beam. Thus, a 4 nailed 2×18 or 4-2×18 or 8×18 wood beam can allow to span 26 feet. For a 26-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 18 inches in thickness and 8″ wide (4-2×18) used for residential building, wood frame structure or projects.

What size wood beam for 28 feet span

For a 28 foot span, you will need atleast 5-2×18 or 10×18 size of wood beam. Thus, a 5 nailed 2×18 or 5-2×18 or 10×18 wood beam can allow to span 28 feet. For a 28-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 18 inches in thickness and 10″ wide (5-2×18) used for residential building, wood frame structure or projects.

What size wood beam for 30 feet span

For a 30 foot span, you will need atleast 5-2×18 or 10×18 size of wood beam. Thus, a 5 nailed 2×18 or 5-2×18 or 10×18 wood beam can allow to span 30 feet. For a 30-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 18 inches in depth and 10″ in width (5-2×18) used for residential building, wood frame structure or projects.

Conclusion:-
For a 20 foot span, you will need atleast 4-2×16 or 8×16 size of wood beam. Thus, a 4 nailed 2×16 or 4-2×16 or 8×16 wood beam can allow to span 20 feet. For a 20-foot spans, the wood beam has to be at least 16 inches in thickness and 8″ wide (4-2×16) used for residential building or projects.