The assumption most people bring to steel beam pricing is straightforward: a bigger beam costs more than a smaller one. This is true in the narrowest sense — a heavier section has more steel in it and steel is priced by weight, so the raw material cost of a larger section is higher. But raw material cost is rarely...

The wrong beam size is one of the most common and most avoidable problems in residential and light commercial construction. It is also one of the most expensive — not because steel is particularly costly to reorder, but because of everything that has to stop, reverse, or wait while the right beam is sourced....