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NC IA | I'm planning a loft for a shop. Basic dimensions will be that its either 6' or 7' deep (wide) and 42' long. I'd like to span 14' feet between posts if possible so I don't have to fight moving longer items underneath (where work bench will be). I don't plan to put a lot of weight up there, rather I plan to attach shelving to the walls, so most of the weight will be supporting a person walking around up there, plus random things that will likely get stored on the floor under shelving.
Contract suggested that I go with 2 - 12" tall LVL's to span this distance. Current price for a 14' LVL is around $140 at Menards - so looking at $280 per 14' (doubling them up)
I would like to see what a comparable steel beam would cost, but I have no idea what size to price. I looked at some span charts but I fail to understand how to read them. Does anyone have a suggestion for what I could use?
I also have some 4x6 steel from an older toolbar. I believe its 3/16 wall thickness - I wonder if that would be sufficient. Logical thinking tells me that if it can handle the stress of being pulled by a tractor, it could handle supporting whatever goes on this loft. Using this would require quite a bit of time as I would need to separate it all out and clean it up.
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Steel beam sizing for loft support
