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....

Specifying the right beam is half the job. How that beam connects to the structure around it is the other half — and it's where a significant number of problems on site originate. Beam connections are one of the less-discussed aspects of structural steelwork, particularly at the builder and small contractor...

There's a particular moment that experienced builders recognise immediately. You've stripped back the plaster on a Victorian terrace, exposed the wall you're planning to open up, and what you're looking at bears almost no resemblance to what the drawings assumed. The courses aren't level. There's a lintel in there...

When a structural engineer signs off on a steel beam installation, they're thinking about load paths. Where does the weight travel? How does it get from the roof, through the walls, and safely down into the foundations? Most people asking for a steel beam — whether it's to open up a kitchen, form a new structural...

The structural calculations are perfect. The beam specification is correct. Building Control has approved the design. The steel arrives on site, gets positioned, and the wall closes up around it. Six months later, cracks appear radiating from the beam ends. Twelve months later, the ceiling shows visible sagging....