understanding steel beam sizes 5

[1spark]

Iam an electrician trying to read and understand the structural drawings of a hospital project that I am working on.
In effort to properly locate sleeves for conduits in poured-in-place concrete walls, I need to determine the depth of beams.
Is there a rule-of-thumb for determining beam size or do I need a chart or manual?
Examples:
(1)Is a W27X94 beam 27" deep, or is the actual depth determined by the weight per foot?

(2)Is a W14X311 column 14" square, or is the actual size determined by the weight per foot?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[mrMikee]

A W27 beam is nominally 27" deep but the actual depth will increase as the the weight per foot increases. The lightest W27 is 84# with a depth of 26.71" and the heaviest is 178# at 27.81". There is no general rule for the flange width since WF shapes are rolled in several diferent series.

The W14 is rolled in a wide range of sizes from 22# (th=13.74" and flange=5.000") to 730# (depth=22.42" and flange=17.89".)

The W14x311 you mentioned is:
depth=17.12
width=16.23

If you need more info you could try going online to a site of a supplier like Ryerson for example.

Regards,
-Mike

 

[UcfSE]

Check out this page from efunda. You can check off what beams you want and it will give you section dimensions. They were right for the few I checked.

Steel Wide-Flange Section Dimensions from Efunda