Wood & Steel Column module
Free Wood Column Calculator — NDS 2024, with Steel Columns per AISC 360-22
Design wood columns per NDS 2024 — sawn lumber, glulam, LVL, LSL, and PSL with the column-stability factor CP — or steel columns per AISC 360-22 (LRFD) with W-shapes, rectangular/square and round HSS, and pipe from the AISC Shapes Database, including flexural buckling (Ch. E) and slender-element sections (E7). Effective-length (Ke) factors for pinned, fixed, and sway end conditions per axis; ASD combinations for wood, LRFD for steel. Switch between the wood and steel design of the same column to compare sizes on screen.
Free to use with no sign-up: the calculator runs in full in the browser with no account, no trial and no feature limits, and the full detailed calculation is shown on screen, step by step, with the code sections and tables it draws on, so it can be checked by hand. A free account keeps one project in the cloud; unlimited cloud projects and printing the report to PDF are Pro features.
What the calculator includes
- The effective-length factor Ke picked from an NDS Table G1 picture table of the six buckling modes, separate end conditions and unbraced lengths per axis (0 = braced continuously), and a live ℓe/d ≤ 50 check under the height field naming the governing axis.
- Species and grade picked straight off NDS 2024 Supplement Tables 4A, 4B, 4D and 5B in the code's own layout, footnotes applied automatically and the clause quoted beside the value.
- Axial loads by ASCE 7-22 type plus an optional lateral load on the wall bay, uniform or a point load at a height, about the strong or the weak axis, with the moment following the end condition (wh²/8 pinned, wh²/12 fixed, wh²/2 cantilever) and the load entering each combination at its own factor.
- The column stability factor CP recomputed for every combination at its own CD, with ℓe, ℓe/d, Emin′, Fc*, FcE and Eq. 3.7-1 walked through, and a warning when NDS §3.10.1.3 requires a metal bearing plate.
- Combined bending and axial compression per NDS §3.9.2 (Eq. 3.9-3) and shear per §3.4.2 for every rectangular column — sawn, glulam (Table 5B Fbx or Fby) and LVL, LSL or PSL (the report’s joist or plank values) — with the P-δ amplifier and CL from the unbraced length.
- Bearing on the plate or sill per NDS §3.10.2 with Cb, the plate species and grade selectable so the softer member governs.
- Axial, shear, moment and deflection diagrams along the column for every load case and combination, with a cursor readout and the governing case preselected.
- Steel columns per AISC 360-22 Chapter E from the AISC Shapes Database, including slender-element sections per E7, combined axial plus bending per H1 with the Appendix 8 B1 amplifier, and a live Lc/r ≤ 200 advisory.
In every StructSuite module
- The code clause behind a value is quoted verbatim beside it from a blue book icon — NDS 2024, SDPWS 2021, AISC 360-22, ACI 318-25, ASCE 7-22 and the 2024 IBC, FEMA P-750 and the I-joist manufacturer's technical bulletins — so the standard does not have to be opened to check it.
- A missing input stops the calculation rather than being filled in silently, and judgment choices start unselected.
- Where a limit applies it is checked as you type: beam RB and column ℓe/d, steel Lc/r, rebar ratios and spacing, fy and f′c.
- Every module prints into one calculation report (Pro) with a cover sheet, a table of contents with measured page numbers and a verification link a plan checker opens without an account.
Worked examples and guides for this module
Each guide works the method end to end on the numbers the engine produces. The sample calculation report (PDF) is a complete StructSuite report printed from the sample project — open it without an account.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an NDS 2022?
No. The two most recent editions of the National Design Specification are NDS 2018 and NDS 2024; there is no 2022 edition. This calculator uses NDS 2024, with the column stability factor CP, for sawn lumber, glulam, LVL, LSL and PSL. Steel columns follow AISC 360-22 Chapter E, including slender-element sections per E7.
How are end conditions handled?
Effective-length factors Ke for pinned, fixed and sway end conditions are set per axis, so a column braced differently in each direction is checked about both. Wood uses the ASD load combinations and steel uses LRFD.
Which NDS checks does it run?
Axial compression per NDS 2024 §3.7: the slenderness ratio ℓe/d about each axis against the §3.7.1.4 limit of 50, the critical buckling value FcE, the column stability factor CP from Eq. 3.7-1, and the adjusted compression design value Fc′ with CD, CM, Ct, CF and CP each listed with its value and section, plus bearing on the plate or sill per §3.10.2. A rectangular column carrying wind or another lateral load — sawn lumber, glulam, LVL, LSL or PSL — is also checked for combined bending and axial compression per §3.9.2 (Eq. 3.9-3) and for shear per §3.4.2: glulam reads Supplement Table 5B Fbx or Fby with the volume or flat use factor, LVL, LSL and PSL read the evaluation report’s joist or plank values with its volume factor. A Parallam PSL 1.9E–2.2E column can also design on its published Fc with NDS §15.4.1 (Eq. 15.4-1 to 15.4-4) and the minimum eccentricity of ESR-1387 footnote 13.
Is the wood & steel column calculator free?
Yes. Free to use with no sign-up: the calculator runs in full in the browser with no account, no trial and no feature limits, and the full detailed calculation is shown on screen, step by step, with the code sections and tables it draws on, so it can be checked by hand. A free account keeps one project in the cloud; unlimited cloud projects and printing the report to PDF are Pro features.