Sound Smarter on the Jobsite: Don't Say "I-beam"

Why not? Well, because in a recently constructed building, 99% chance it's *not* an I-beam, it's a Wide Flange (or W-Section, same thing) An I-beam (or S-section) is taller, + has narrower, curved flanges. A Wide Flange is wider and has flat flanges.

Quick vocab lesson: "Flange" refers to the top and bottom (horizontal) parts of the beam. They distribute load and resists bending forces. "Web" refers to the middle (vertical) part, which resists shear forces. Wide-flanges are more versatile and can carry a lot more load, so the majority of structural steel for buildings is in this shape. They are designated by height/weight; a W12x50 is 12" tall and weighs 50 lbs per foot.

In the design phases, when selecting beams, we're always balancing these two dimensions: a deeper beam can span farther, but may make stories too tall/not allow enough head room. We can make it shallower by making it heavier, but then it's more cumbersome/expensive to install.

A major advantage to a wide flange over an I-beam is that the flat flanges make connecting them and attaching other pieces easier than the curved flanges of an I-beam.

Steel can be connected using welds or bolts, and there is a wide variety of connection configurations depending on what forces you’re trying to resist, whether you’re in a seismic zone, how tall the building is and where various connections/beams occur in a building, etc. This is a cool article that explains more about various beam connection types.

Anyway, this one is pretty easy - just make sure you don’t say “I-beam” unless it’s an actual I-beam - and if you’re unsure, you can just say “beam!” Unless it’s a column, then please call it a column :)

Bonus: Here's my favorite Sesame Street video of all time, which shows the fabrication of an I-beam:

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