Type the loadings.
Get the beam.
Single-beam size estimating to Eurocode 3 for UK builders' steel, in your browser. Your engineer signs the final design.
For UK consulting structural engineers, fab-shop estimators sizing supply-only steel for builders, and architects spec-ing beams during design development. Loft, knock-through, side-return and garage presets built in.
Monthly card payment · Cancel any time · All prices include VAT
Or email info@steelestim8.com directly — happy to walk you through it.
Part of the SteelEstim8 family.
What BeamEstim8 does
- Enter geometry (span, restraint condition) and loadings (dead, imposed) via the browser form.
- Choose a building-type preset — loft, knock-through, side-return, garage — or configure the beam manually.
- Get a UB or UC from the UK Blue Book that passes every check.
- See per-clause utilisation ratios against BS EN 1993-1-1 sections 6.2 and 6.3, plus BS EN 1993-1-5 cl. 6 web bearing.
- See the SLS deflection check against span/360 for floors or span/200 for roofs.
- Print the calc pack from the browser (native "Save as PDF" in the print dialog) for the engineer-of-record to review and sign.
Four presets for what most builders actually build.
Pick a preset, tweak the numbers, size the beam. Manual mode is one click away if the project doesn't fit a preset.
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Loft conversion
New floor joists onto an existing wall or beam, most common purlin and ridge beam checks.
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Knock-through
Removing an internal load-bearing wall — the beam picks up the floor and any wall above.
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Side-return
Ground-floor extension into a side alley — supporting the outer wall and often a first-floor slab.
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Garage conversion
Reworking the garage roof or opening into the main house — spans, point loads, restraint choices.
What it does not do (yet)
Every UK engineer and fabricator has been burned by software that promised more than it shipped. So here are the limits, up front.
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Not a stamped design.
Every pack is preliminary until your engineer-of-record reviews and signs the sign-off block. Professional responsibility for the final design rests with the signing engineer.
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Not for cantilevers or continuous beams.
v1 covers simply-supported single-span beams with two pinned ends. Cantilevers and multi-span beams are on the v1.1 / v1.2 roadmap.
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Not connection or foundation design.
Beam sizing only. Connections, base plates, padstone reinforcement design, and any foundation work are out of scope. Your engineer handles those separately.
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Not BS 5950.
BS EN 1993-1-1:2005+A1:2014 + UK NA only. Legacy BS 5950 work is not supported.
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Not blind-trust of your inputs.
BeamEstim8 sizes the beam for the spans, loadings and restraint conditions you enter. Those inputs are yours to verify against the actual site conditions.
Built to UK standards
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BS EN 1993-1-1 + UK NA
Section classification (cl. 5.5), bending and shear (cl. 6.2), lateral-torsional buckling (cl. 6.3.2) with UK NA rolled-section parameters.
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BS EN 1993-1-5 cl. 6
Web bearing under transverse forces at the supports — the check that catches short beams under heavy point loads.
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BS EN 1990 + BS EN 1991-1-1
Basis of design and imposed floor loads (Cat A residential defaults, override for other categories). All UK National Annex.
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Padstone bearing pressure
Bearing area check at the supports against the masonry underneath — sized alongside the beam, not left for the engineer to catch.
BS EN 1993-1-1:2005+A1:2014 is the 1st-generation Eurocode current in the UK and valid until 30 March 2028. A v2 migration to the 2nd-generation Eurocode is on the roadmap ahead of that date.
Every pack is preliminary. Your engineer signs the final design.
BeamEstim8 is a design aid, not certified design. Every calc pack carries a "Status: Preliminary" tag on the cover and the footnote "design aid, not certified design — engineer-of-record signs in §11" as permanent product furniture.
Before anyone relies on a pack — to order steel, submit to Building Control, or build — a chartered structural or civil engineer (the engineer-of-record) reviews and signs the sign-off block. You appoint that engineer; we do not. Once they've signed, the pack is theirs to stand behind.
The output is only as good as the inputs. Spans, loadings, load positions, restraint conditions and bearing details entered into BeamEstim8 are yours to verify against the actual site conditions.
One subscription. Every beam you size this month.
£29/month, monthly card payment, cancel any time. VAT included. Once you subscribe, you'll get access via one-time PIN to the email address you paid with — same flow as LoadEstim8.
- Simply-supported single-span beams to BS EN 1993-1-1 + UK NA
- UB and UC sections from the UK Blue Book
- Section classification, bending, shear, LTB, web bearing, padstone
- SLS deflection (span/360 floors, span/200 roofs)
- Four building-type presets: loft, knock-through, side-return, garage
- Calc pack via the browser's native print-to-PDF
- 142 automated tests behind every calc
Monthly card payment · Cancel any time · All prices include VAT
BeamEstim8 is a design aid for single-beam member sizing to BS EN 1993-1-1 + UK NA and BS EN 1993-1-5 cl. 6. Output is preliminary / indicative until reviewed and signed by a named chartered structural or civil engineer. Final structural responsibility for any design rests with the engineer who signs the calc pack. Simply-supported single-span beams with two pinned ends; UB and UC sections from the UK Blue Book. Not for cantilevers, continuous / multi-span beams, connection design, foundation design, or plastic analysis. BS 5950 not supported. Indicative only — not for construction.
One family. Four products. Same workflow.
Same fabricator-first approach across portal frames, mezzanines, member sizing and rails. Buy any product on its own — monthly card payment, cancel any time.
- S8
SteelEstim8
Portal-frame estimating
£80/mo Shipping - M8
MezzEstim8
Mezzanine quoting
£60/mo Private alpha - L8
LoadEstim8
Eurocode member sizing
£60/mo Shipping - B8 You are here
BeamEstim8
Single-beam sizing (EC3)
£29/mo Shipping - R8
RailEstim8
Handrail & balustrade quoting
£39/mo Pre-launch
BeamEstim8 is live now. £29/mo (incl. VAT) · monthly card payment · cancel any time · included in the SteelEstim8 family. Output is preliminary until reviewed and signed by a named chartered engineer.