Overview

About the Calculator

Design simple and continuous wood beams quickly and accurately using our Wood Beam Calculator. Built for U.S. structural engineers and designers, this tool follows the NDS 2018 Allowable Stress Design (ASD) method and supports unlimited spans, multiple point and distributed loads, and custom wood sections. Whether you're working with dimensional lumber, engineered wood, or flitch beams, get real-time feedback on moment, shear, and deflection checks with visual pass/fail indicators.

Design wood beams to NDS 2018 ASD standards

Quickly size and analyze simple or continuous wood beams using the Allowable Stress Design (ASD) method in full compliance with NDS 2018. Enter spans, loads, and wood species to get instant pass/fail results for bending, shear, and deflection checks.

Support multiple spans, cantilevers, and load combinations

Model single-span and multi-span timber beams with unlimited supports and real-world load types including dead, live, snow, and wind. Automatically generate governing load combinations using ASD load factors, with clear envelope diagrams and governing case identification.

Instant feedback with pass/fail checks and diagrams

Visualize critical forces and design checks in real-time. Our calculator generates shear, moment, and deflection diagrams with color-coded pass/fail indicators to help you design with confidence. No more waiting or guesswork.

Design flitch beams and engineered wood sections

Easily model hybrid flitch beams combining timber and steel plates, or select from a built-in database of dimensional lumber, LVL, glulam, and I-joists. Adjust ply counts and fastener assumptions for composite action with full ASD code compliance.

Account for bracing, wet service, creep, and bearing

Tackle advanced design criteria with full control over lateral bracing conditions, service moisture factors, and bearing checks. Toggle common design flags to align with your project’s conditions and ensure compliance with NDS 2018 sections 2.3, 3.4, and 3.10.

See a clear summary of design inputs and results

Every design outputs a clean summary of your beam geometry, loads, material selections, and governing checks. Download calculation reports for submittals or client reviews, backed by transparent code references and section-by-section documentation.

Presets

Ready-Made Configuration to Save You Time

A preset is a ready-made configuration that instantly sets up a structural calculation with commonly used parameters, materials, and load scenarios. Each preset is tailored to specific use cases like floor joists, roof girders, or deck beams.

Generic Beam

Generic Flitch Beam

Ceiling Joist

Combination Beam

Deck Beam

Deck Joist

Floor Girder

Floor Header

Floor Joist

Hip / Valley

Rafter

Ridge Beam

Roof Header

Why ClearCalcs?

Frustration to Flow

See how ClearCalcs transforms structural calculations from a tedious, error-prone chore into an efficient, stress-free process.

With spreadsheets and clunky software

Frustration, fuss, and fragile formulas—the old way of engineering calculations that holds you back

Struggle with endless spreadsheets and custom formulas.

Building codes change, but outdated software and spreadsheets don’t.

Triple-check and verify manual input at every turn.

Old software feels like a maze, with unclear settings, limited templates, and rigid interfaces.

With ClearCalcs

Effortless, efficient engineering calculations at your fingertips.

100+ pre-built calculators for different materials.

Every calculation comply with the latest codes and standards.

Forget the worry of “black box” calculations; verify calculators with inline formulas, codes, and checks.

Intuitive tools built to your workflow, plus unmatched customer support.

How It Works

Your code-compliant calculator

Tired of complex calculations? ClearCalcs Calculator Library keeps it simple, secure and code-compliant – so you can calculate with confidence.

Save time with ready-to-use templates for wood, steel, and concrete

ClearCalcs offers an extensive library of easy-to-use calculators for beams, columns, and footings, designed to make structural calculations simpler and faster.

Choose from a wide range of pre-configured beam and column options, complete with automatic member sizing, so you can quickly reach reliable designs and reduce rework.

Beams

Columns

Foundations

Walls

Loads

Dynamically track your load paths from roof to foundation

No need to copy and paste reactions between calculations! If the top calculator's reactions change, the loads being inherited onto the lower calculator will update automatically. This includes all loads such as dead, live, snow, seismic, and wind.

Submit professional reports for permit review

ClearCalcs is not only easy to use, but also easy to check! All calculations follow an easy to understand traffic light check system, with multiple levels of detail available giving you the choice of printing every step of the calculation and all code and standard references, or simply a compact, one-page print out.

Report heading includes your project name and address

Easily upload your organization logo for a professional report

Use custom PDF upload to merge additional documents to your structural calculations

Download a sample report

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Wood Beam (ASD) Calculator to NDS 2018 (ASD)