Foundation/basement posts and beams

[jKaufmann]

The beams are 8x8" steel I, resting on 4" diameter steel posts.  It's easy to specify the beams properly, but the only options for the post seem to be beam options, as shown in the Options for Beam and Post framing specifications, attached.

 

 

Can someone tell me what I'm missing on this basic question: How to specify a round steel post?

[jKaufmann]

(I should probably stipulate that I know that I can specify Post Type:Round ("Round" being the only one of the options that could not be a Beam Type), but the fact that all of other Type options seem to be for a beam, and that "Round" is the only option which does not specify a material, makes me think I'm missing something fundamental to the way the program is supposed to work.)

[solver]

Round post. Set Material to Steel.

[jKaufmann]

Thanks! So there's no significance to the other Type options (all but "Round") already specifying the material?

[jKaufmann]

IAC, I should wrap my head around the way catalogs (particularly the HD Core Catalog) are organized, with entries being some combination of material, shape, function which is just flexible enough to get the job done.  For instance, this exercise made me realize that the default Material for Beam Type "Steel-I" was "Fir Framing" from the HD Core Catalog (which I changed to the "Steel" that I added to the User Catalog (because there was nothing in the Core Catalog)).

 

And I should thank you for essentially advising not to over-think/over-complicate the question: not all Type options need to specify all of the same characteristics.

[solver]

2 hours ago, jKaufmann said:

not to over-think/over-complicate the question

 

Newer users sometimes want the program to provide every option. Sometimes there is a setting that does just what you need, sometimes not.

 

Think of the software as a set of tools. Become familiar with them -- how they work and what they can do and then use them as needed. Don't assume use because of how something is named. The Custom Backsplash is useful on the exterior modeling something other than a backsplash, for example.

[jKaufmann]

Thanks. I completely agree that it's a matter of adjusting/orienting expectations, and I'm often finding that HD has simply thought about things in a practical, rather than purely orthogonal, way.  It's a good exercise to have to rethink my approach, guided by HD which is steeped in the practical issues.

 

For example, the post-and-beam arrangement that prompted my question is used differently in two sides of a basement (Floor 0), in all cases with 76" posts:

• On one side (original home ~45 years old), a single 8x8 beam runs the length of the basement (except where broken for stairs) as a mid-beam support for 2x8 joists. In that case, the beam is topped by an additional 2x8 pad on which the joists rest. In HD terms, I think that just makes the beam 9.5x8, rather than 8x8. (At least the elevation numbers work out that way.)
• On the other side (an addition ~40 years old), the foundation floor elevation matches the first side (-93-3/4"), and the posts are also 76". But in that case there are two 8x8 beams, directly supporting the corrugated tray of a 6" concrete pad for a Floor 1 garage. In that case the concrete pad replaces the Floor 1 subfloor-and-joist floor structure.  So the garage elevation is -2-1/4" (6-(3/4+7.5) for the floor structure difference) -1.5"(for the 2x8 pad) = -3-3/4".

It was interesting to see HD's approach to that, and see how it worked out.  I will get the hang of it, and thank you for your patient help.