Universal columns, H columns, girders and lintels
Universal Column
Universal steel columns look very similar to universal beams (I beams) and there is also very little to separate the two in terms of their functionality. Universal columns (UCs, for short) are often called H beams, lintels or girders.
Steel columns are required for any major structural work in the construction of buildings, but also make excellent load-bearing support beams. Columns hold loads across the entire vertical axis, whereas steel beams are often used to support loads across the whole length, horizontally.
Universal Column Sizes
Unlike steel beam sizes, which feature different flange widths, web thicknesses and section depths, steel columns have more of a uniform, even size in terms of width and depth. The exact universal column size depends entirely on its overall weight.
The web helps the column or beam to resist shear forces, while the flanges help to protect the product from bending.
With the Buy A Beam online store, you can purchase bespoke steel columns in a wide variety of sizes, dimensions and thicknesses. Whether as individual products or as part of a structure, the columns can be fabricated to your exact specifications.
Uses for Universal Steel Columns
Steel columns are used for various different types of construction, with the common objective being to provide structural support. Much like structural steel beams, columns have a similar appearance, holding more of an ‘H’ shape than an ‘I’, depending on which way you look at it, so many of the uses are similar.
However, because of their shape and dimensions, these products are more frequently used as vertical columns.
They are typically used in residential or commercial buildings, civil construction and general manufacturing projects.
Buy Steel Columns Online
A large number of local steel fabrication companies are signed up to the Buy A Beam store, who can fabricate and distribute universal columns (among other steel products) to you. As a customer, if you’re currently on-site and need to have some steel shipped directly to your location, this has never been easier.
Buy A Beam’s vast and growing network of local steel fabricators make buying steel online a smooth and stress-free process. If you know you’re going to need universal columns in specific sizes, ordering via Buy A Beam will save you heaps of time and hassle.
Many fabricators can cater to specific requirements too, such as shot blasting, hole drilling or adding primer paint to steel beams.
As you add steel products to your basket, you can add any processes and special requirements to your order, and your local steel fabricator can then accept the order.