The construction of a building or a house has many stories to share from the inception of the
idea to completion. Every phase requires detailed planning and decision-making. Some
aspects are a selection of area, space, contractor, designer, material, the purpose of each column
and beam, and many more. From time and again, through our blogs, Omni Steel Supply tries
to make a couple of these facets clear and easy to understand.
Today, we thought of highlighting the purpose of different types of Structural Columns and
Beams such as Lally Column, Post Column and others. Designers many times suggest
getting a column in a residence and this confuses residents a lot. For commercial buildings,
it does make sense to them but not for their houses.
Reasons for different types of Structural Columns could be—
● Shape of columns: This is the most talked about feature and often confuses our
clients. Now shape is the biggest decider when it comes down to columns.
Rectangular Columns, it is the most common one and is used excessively in
construction, particularly when the shape of the area is rectangular or square. Then,
there’s the Circular Column, its purpose and beauty can be gauged from historical
construction, where it not only supported the foundation but gave an elegant look to
the edifice. It has no edges, making movement easy. It is also used for construction
of bridges or elevated rail tracks. Other, significant ones are T-shaped, Y-shaped,
L-shaped and others. All these are typically selected on the basis of design of the
room or the building and purpose it is going to serve. Like L-shaped can give an
impressive feel to your boundary wall. There’s also Hexagonal shaped columns that
are vastly used for giving height to open areas with roofs, and are used for
auditoriums, conference rooms. A good quality steel column, changes the whole
ambience while adding strength and strong support to your construction.
● Column Load: A column selection is also dependent on the load that it has to take. A
strong and durable material and type would be required for shouldering heavy loads
as in case of bridges or commercial complexes, similarly an elegant, modern looking,
eco-friendly and durable column type can be used for carrying loads of small
independent houses. A talk with a good metal contractor would be a good decision
for selecting column type.
● Ventilation: Another interesting feature columns help in maintaining the temperature
of the area. It can balance the coldness and warmth of the area by adequate
circulation of the air.
● Post Construction: Usually, columns support foundation and are installed at the time
of construction of a building but there’s also something called floating column. These
are installed for extending your present construction for maybe getting an attic or for
dramatic pleasure for kids.
To get a better insight on the types and purpose of Structural Steel Columns and beams, get
in touch with Omni Steel Supply. We are professional metal contractors and can show you more.