A Beam Span calculator is a tool that allows you to calculate the beam Span of a furniture item or structure based on other details of the item.
If you’re someone who works with furniture regularly, have a furniture business or you’re just someone who wants better knowledge about Beam Spans, a beam Span calculator can help you with that immensely.
Beam Span calculators aren’t a widely used tool and even those individuals who are in the business have little or no idea about these calculators.
A Beam Span calculator can make your life a lot easier.
Although experience and manual calculations are still viable options, a beam Span calculator can still be a lot more efficient as you can calculate the beam Span a lot faster and with minimum errors.
But the condition is that you enter the details as accurately as possible. A Beam Span calculator is a detailed tool you will need to enter values about material and dimensions so make sure you have them right.
The length of the beam is important because it determines the load that can be put on a beam. A strong material with a huge beam Span may be susceptible to fracture if it’s not designed right.
Adequate Beam Span calculators are hard to come by and if you want to find the best beam Span calculator for yourself you need to stick with the details given in this article.
It contains some of the best beam Span calculators that can be found on the internet. A small review for each of them has also been given highlighting their pros and cons so you can make the best decision.
Make sure you have all the technical details right before you start using a beam Span calculator.
Hopefully, Once you are done with this article and you start using the calculators mentioned below you’ll feel a lot more confident calculating beam spans.
The Best Beam Span Calculators Available
1. Omni Calculator: Wood Beam Span Calculator
Omni Calculator is a website that you have probably heard about if you use online calculators regularly.
Even though it is mostly used for math and science calculators it also has a really wide range of construction calculators.
Omni Calculator is probably the most used website when it comes to calculators, and it certainly has one of the best Beam Span Calculators.
If you have had the chance to use other calculators of Omni Calculator you must have noticed that all of them have almost the same design which brings uniformity to the whole website.
There are a lot of details that you must enter before you can get your results, inputs include; Lumber Details, Load and Deflection Details, and Allowable stresses.
The design of the Omni Calculator is pretty good, it is probably the best-designed website not only on this list but out of all the calculator websites on the internet.
They have a signature abstract design, which is used throughout the website that brings visual uniformity to the platform.
It is also a very colorful website, as it uses different colors for different types of calculators.
Once you have carefully entered all the details and values your beam requirements according to the load will be displayed on the lowest most section automatically.
There is an advanced mode on the calculator that you can use to add further details.
If you are looking for a Beam Span calculator that has extra details, Omni Calculator can be the right choice for you.
2. Decksgo: Beam Span Calculator
There’s a small chance that you have heard about this website, but only if you are someone who works with construction and building. This is a website that is totally dedicated to building.
You can find a decent amount of really good guides on different procedures. Plus, you can view plans on different parts of houses. There are also a few calculators that you can use.
Not being such a well-known website does not mean that Decksgo is less capable than other websites on this list.
The design of this calculator is totally different from Omni Calculator that we discussed above but it is still a really structured one. The amount of inputs that you have to enter is a lot less.
You just need to enter the Lumber Species, Beam Size, and Joint Span. If you like a calculator with fewer inputs Decksgo’s calculator might be the right tool for you.
Website design is mediocre in terms of both practicality and visuals.
You can easily surf through the website without running into any glitches or pop-ups. But, the website does seem a bit too spacious, and this can also be preferable for some people.
Once you are done with the inputs click ‘Calculate’ and choose the ‘Overhang’ option if it concerns you.
You will get your results just below the image of the beam, it’s easy to miss the results that could have been represented the results a little bit better by using a bigger or more colorful font.
3. Clear Calcs: Free Beam Calculator
Clear Calcs is a really well-managed website that gives you access to some really high-quality calculators. Even though it is designed like a high-end website, there aren’t many people that use Clear Calcs.
A reason for it might be that you can only get access to limited tools if you are using the free version of the website. Luckily for you, the Clear Calcs Beam Span calculator can be used for free.
Clear Calcs is a really professional website and that is something you’ll understand as soon as glance at their calculator.
Before the calculator, there is a very simple yet comprehensive summary of the concept behind the span of a beam. The use of graphs and images makes the whole concept fairly easy to understand.
You’ll have to scroll down a bit to reach the calculator and it’s probably the best-designed calculator here.
Clear Calcs gives you a great user experience if you are someone who prioritizes that, this calculator might be just the right one for you.
The design of the website is just as great as the Calculator, a very simple and clean design has been used that keeps the whole experience ‘peaceful’.
The website works pretty smoothly and it’s hard to find a flaw in it. There aren’t any ads on the website which is always a good thing if you find them annoying.
There are a lot of inputs that you need to mention before you can your results and these inputs are a little bit different than the calculators that were discussed above.
Once you have entered all the inputs you will get your results, if you face any confusion just scroll down to the instructions.
Importance of Calculating Beam Span
All the calculators mentioned above can efficiently calculate beam span for you, you’ll just have to enter some details and most of the work will be handled by then.
To operate these Calculators properly you need to understand the reason for calculating the beam Span.
Two main factors affect the beam Span; the first is the space required on the beam and the second is the load that the beam will have to bear.
If the length of the beam is too long, the moment on the beam increases which can bend it or break it when a load is applied, if the beam length is too small, the structure might not be able to serve its purpose properly.
A Beam Span Calculator tries to find the optimal length so that both conditions can be met.
End Note:
Beam Span Calculators might start to feel like a necessity rather than a luxury once you start using them.
You’ll see how accurate and fast they are after you use them practically, although it may take some time to get used to them.
All the calculators mentioned above are more than capable of giving you correct answers, and they are not in any order on the list.
Read through them carefully and try them all out and just go with the calculator you feel most comfortable with.
