SteelEstim8
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LoadEstim8
LOADESTIM8 · LIVE NOW · £60/MO · CANCEL ANY TIME

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Portal-frame member sizing to BS EN 1993-1-1 + UK NA, in your browser. Live now — calc pack ready for engineer-of-record sign-off, today.

For UK structural engineers and fab-shop engineering teams currently running this in MasterFrame, MasterPort, Tekla TS Portal — or by hand from SCI publications.

Subscribe — £60/mo → See a sample calc pack

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Prefer to try before you buy? Email us — full access for two weeks, no card needed.

Or email info@steelestim8.com directly — happy to walk you through it.

Part of the SteelEstim8 family.

What LoadEstim8 does

  • Enter geometry (span, eaves, pitch, bays) and loadings (dead, imposed, snow, wind v_b, terrain category).
  • Choose steel grade (S275 / S355) and base fixity (pinned / fixed). Defaults are sensible.
  • Get the lightest UK UB rafter and column section that passes every ULS clause and the SLS deflection limit.
  • See per-member, per-clause utilisation ratios against BS EN 1993-1-1 — sections 6.2 (cross-section) and 6.3 (member buckling).
  • See bending moment + shear force diagrams for the governing combination, plotted to scale.
  • Get a clean A4 calc pack ready for the engineer-of-record to review and stamp.
SAMPLE OUTPUT · PROMOTIONAL PREVIEW

The output is a calc pack your engineer will actually read.

Worked example: a 30 m × 10.5 m portal-frame warehouse with 10° pitch and pinned bases. All eight sections shown, all numbers consistent. Indicative preview only — sample data, not for engineering use.

LoadEstim8
Job no.
5322
Rev.
P01
Date
2026-05-02

Portal frame calc pack

BS EN 1993-1-1 + UK NA · Single-span symmetric duopitch

Project
New 30 m × 10.5 m portal-frame warehouse
Address
Heathpark Industrial Estate, Honiton, Devon EX14 1SE
Client
Devon Industrial Storage Ltd
Engineer-of-record
J. Smith CEng MIStructE — Smith & Co Structural Engineering
OVERALL DESIGN STATUS PASS
  • ULS member checks PASS governing utilisation 0.653
  • SLS apex deflection PASS 27.3 ≤ 53 mm
  • SLS eaves drift PASS 4.7 ≤ 18 mm

1. Frame geometry + inputs

SPAN 10.5 m EAVES 5.50 m APEX 6.43 m 10°

Single-span symmetric duopitch · 5 bays @ 6.0 m c/c (30.0 m total) · pinned bases · dimensions to scale.

Geometry
Span
10.5 m
Eaves height
5.5 m
Bay length
6.0 m
Roof pitch
10°
Number of bays
5
Building height
7.59 m
Loadings
Dead — roof
0.13 kN/m²
Dead — wall
0.09 kN/m²
Imposed roof
0.6 kN/m²
Snow
0.6 kN/m²
Wind v_b
24 m/s
Terrain category
II
Material
Steel grade
S355
Base fixity
pinned
γ_M0
1.00
γ_M1
1.00

2. Section selection

Recommended rafter 203×133×30 UB ULS PASS SLS PASS
Recommended column 254×146×37 UB ULS PASS SLS PASS

3. Bending moment + shear force diagrams

Plotted for the rafter's governing combination ULS-2-wind-trans-negative. Sagging fills amber (tension on inside), hogging fills blue (tension on outside). Peak values labelled.

Bending moment peak 67 kN·m
40 50 6 67 sagging (+M) hogging (−M)
Shear force peak 26 kN
26 12 18 12 positive shear negative shear
Member M peak (kN·m) at x (m) V peak (kN)
col left50.03.8526.3
rafter left39.90.00−12.3
rafter right−66.65.33−17.9
col right−66.60.0012.1

4. Utilisation summary — rafter, cl. 6.3.3 (combined)

One row of the full table. Every clause check from cl. 6.2.4 through cl. 6.3.3 is recorded for every load combination, per member.

Combination Clause UR Result
ULS-1-grav-positive cl. 6.3.3 0.485 PASS
ULS-1-grav-negative cl. 6.3.3 0.605 PASS
ULS-2-wind-trans-positive cl. 6.3.3 0.617 PASS
ULS-2-wind-trans-negativegoverning cl. 6.3.3 0.653 PASS
ULS-3-wind-uplift-positive cl. 6.3.3 0.638 PASS
ULS-3-wind-uplift-negative cl. 6.3.3 0.633 PASS

5. Serviceability + steel mass

  • Apex deflection (SLS) 27.3 mm PASS limit span/200 = 53 mm
  • Eaves drift (SLS wind) 4.7 mm PASS limit H/300 = 18 mm
  • αcr (sway sensitivity) 11.69 PASS non-sway, no amplification
Total primary frame steel 4,361 kg rafters + columns · excludes purlins, side rails, bracing, base plates and connections

Design aid — not certified design. Final structural responsibility rests with the named engineer-of-record. Output is indicative only — not for construction.

LoadEstim8 · part of the SteelEstim8 family · Exeter, UK

  • Overall design PASS
  • Governing utilisation 0.65
  • Apex deflection 27.3 mm limit 53 mm
  • Eaves drift 4.7 mm limit 18 mm
  • Recommended rafter 203×133×30 UB
  • Recommended column 254×146×37 UB
  • Primary frame mass 4,361 kg
  • Combinations evaluated 7

LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?

Ship your first calc pack today — £60/mo.

Monthly card · cancel any time · VAT included.

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What it does not do (yet)

Every UK fabricator and engineer has been burned by software that promised more than it shipped. So here are the limits, up front.

  • Not a finite-element solver.

    Outputs come from a chartered-engineer-validated parametric library, not a real-time FE engine. Suited to standard portal frames; bespoke geometry sits with your usual tools.

  • Not a stamped design.

    Final structural responsibility rests with the engineer-of-record. The calc pack is a clean A4 review document — your engineer signs and stamps.

  • Not a CAD package.

    Output is a calc pack and a bill of materials. Detailed shop drawings stay in your existing CAD workflow.

Built to UK standards

  • Eurocode 3 (BS EN 1993-1-1)

    For new builds. The current UK design standard for steel structures.

  • BS 5950 supported for refurbs

    For older work assessed against the legacy code where the original design pre-dates Eurocode.

  • UK snow + wind zone data baked in

    BS-published snow and wind data for the project postcode auto-populated, so you do not chase a national chart.

READY TO SUBSCRIBE

One subscription. Every portal-frame calc you ship this month.

£60/month, monthly card, cancel any time. Calc pack PDF on every output. No per-quote fees. No contract. No commitment beyond the month you're in.

  • Unlimited calc packs — size as many frames as you need
  • BS EN 1993-1-1 + UK NA member sizing — UB rafters, UB / UC columns
  • Per-clause utilisation ratios (cl. 6.2.4 → cl. 6.3.3)
  • Bending moment + shear force diagrams for the governing combo
  • UK postcode-driven snow + wind data, baked in
  • BS 5950 supported for refurb work
  • Calc pack PDF ready for engineer-of-record sign-off
Subscribe — £60/mo → Questions? Email us

Monthly card payment  ·  Cancel any time  ·  All prices include VAT

14 DAYS FREE Not ready to commit? Email us — we'll set you up with full access for two weeks, no card needed.

LoadEstim8 is a design aid for UK Eurocode portal-frame member sizing. It is not a substitute for engineer-of-record judgement. Output is preliminary / indicative until reviewed and signed by a named chartered engineer. Final structural responsibility for any design rests with the engineer who signs the calc pack. Single-span symmetric duopitch and monopitch frames; pinned bases. UK National Annex only.

Part of the SteelEstim8 family

One family. Four products. Same workflow.

Buy any product on its own, or save 10% with the Family bundle. Same fabricator-first approach across portal frames, mezzanines, member sizing and rails.

  1. S8

    SteelEstim8

    Portal-frame estimating

    £160/mo Shipping
  2. M8

    MezzEstim8

    Mezzanine quoting

    £85/mo Private alpha
  3. L8 You are here

    LoadEstim8

    Eurocode member sizing

    £60/mo Shipping
  4. R8

    RailEstim8

    Handrail & balustrade quoting

    £39/mo Pre-launch
See the Family bundle See the family roadmap

LoadEstim8 is live now. £60/mo (incl. VAT) · monthly card payment · cancel any time · included in the Family bundle.