So structural beams are used pretty much everywhere right?

[perfectchaos180]

like everyday homes and highway bridges and almost every other building right?

just making sure... I mean, I've never actually seen an everyday home being built and you can't see them just by standing inside the house.

 

[NateTG]

like everyday homes and highway bridges and almost every other building right?

just making sure... I mean, I've never actually seen an everyday home being built and you can't see them just by standing inside the house.

You can usually see roof beams by going into the crawl space or attic. Most house roofs are built with beams.

 

[FredGarvin]

Go into a basement of most homes, especially an unfinished basement. You will usually see an I-beam as the main cross support for the home. Find the posts and look up.

 

[NateTG]

Go into a basement of most homes, especially an unfinished basement. You will usually see an I-beam as the main cross support for the home. Find the posts and look up.

In some parts of the world, there's not a whole lot of basements since moving dirt is lots of work.

 

[FredGarvin]

In some parts of the world, there's not a whole lot of basements since moving dirt is lots of work.

That's true, but a home doesn't need a basement to have a structural beam in it. I just used that as an easy to see example. I must admit that I immediately think of here in the US though.

 

[mgb_phys]

Most houses without basements will only have a steel beam as a lintel across a window or door in an external wall. Of course wooden floor and roof joists are beams in an engineering sense.

 

[Astronuc]

Building (including housing) frames are composed of structural beams (columns or posts, joists, purlins, sills, . . .). Some areas have trusses for roofs, while others use clear spans.

Bridges use variety of structural forms depending on geometry, size, material and contruction methods. Some use cables, while others use various beams, which include not only I beams, but box beams, C-channels and plates or slabs.

Some houses in the US have basements, while others are built on piers or posts, and still others are build on slabs. It depends on the environment.