I’m looking at the video “determining the scale of structural systems” and I have a question: If I wanted to save money to help with deflection, would I shorten the beam span or the joist span?
Hi @PurpleHair & welcome to the ARE Community! So sorry for the delayed response. Let’s see if one of our experts can answer this question! @cat.heard9 do you mind jumping in?
Hey @PurpleHair, good question. It would depend on which item you’re looking to reduce deflection for. If the beam is deflecting too much, you’d could reduce the span, same with the joist or girder.
Something to consider when reducing spans, though, this isn’t necessarily a cost saving measure. When the spans are reduced, this has further implications on the structure and spatial quality of the building. Some questions to ask are: What happens to the interior walls when I reduce the length of a span? Will this require more structure to accommodate my needs? Is the cost saving measure of a shorter beam or girder/joist worth the implications?
1 Like