The Steel Solutions Center is your gateway to powerful tools, facts and project solutions.

SURFACE AREA V13.1

Version 13.0 is updated to the shape properties from AISC Steel Construction Manual, 13th Ed.

How much paint will it take to protect this parking garage?

Typical Exterior
Typical Interior
Ramp Down

Beam

Beam
Typical Interior
Girder

Sloping Girders

Typical Exterior
Typical Columns Girder

Enter typical beam, girder and column sizes and find out !

Comments? Questions? Visit us online at www.aisc.org/ASKAISC or

contact us at solutions@aisc.org or toll free at 866.ASK.AISC

This spreadsheet has been prepared in accordance with information made available to the American
Institute of Steel Construction, Inc., AISC Marketing, LLC, and the Steel Solutions Center, LLC at the
time of its preparation. While it is believed to be accurate, it has not been prepared for conventional use
as an engineering or construction document and should not be used or relied upon for any specific
application without competent professional examination and verification of its accuracy, suitability and
applicability by a licensed engineer, architect or other professional. AISC, AISCM, and SSC disclaim any
Trademearks licensed from liability arising from information provided by others or from the unauthorized use of the information
AISC contained in this spreadsheet.
 The Steel Solutions Center is your gateway to powerful tools, facts and project solutions.
Surface Area V13.1

Instructions
Switch to Input Sheet and Input the required information in the
boxes with the blue text, including:
1) Project Name
2) Project Description
3) Company
4) User
5) Bay Width (Girder Length)
6) # of Bays - along the Building Width
7) Bay Length ( Beam Length)
8) # of Bays - along the Building Length
9) Number of Floors
10) Choose whether or not to paint the top flange of the beams. The top flange may be left unpainted in
order to install studs or if the paint is field applied.
11) Interior Beam Size
12) Number of Interior Beam Lines *fractions are acceptable
13) Exterior Beam Size
14) Number of Exterior Beam Lines *fractions are acceptable
15) Choose whether or not to paint the top flange of the girders The top flange may be left unpainted in
order to install studs or if the paint is field applied.
16) Interior Girder Size
17) Number of Interior Girder Lines *fractions are acceptable
18) Exterior Girder Size
19) Number of Exterior Girder Lines *fractions are acceptable
20) Interior Column Sizes and Floor Heights for up to 10 Levels
21) Exterior Column Sizes for up to 10 Levels
For Parking Garages:
22) Choose whether or not to include parking on the lowest level, usually slab-on-grade. When checked
this option will add another floor to the area of the structure for parking calculations.
23) Floor area per Parking Space or Total Number of Parking Spaces

See the examples on the 'Example' and "Ramp Example' sheets for illustrations of variables and how to handle
ramps in the input

Comments? Questions? Visit us online at www.aisc.org/ASKAISC or

contact us at solutions@aisc.org or toll free at 866.ASK.AISC

This spreadsheet has been prepared in accordance with information made available to the American
Institute of Steel Construction, Inc., AISC Marketing, LLC, and the Steel Solutions Center, LLC at the time
of its preparation. While it is believed to be accurate, it has not been prepared for conventional use as an
engineering or construction document and should not be used or relied upon for any specific application
without competent professional examination and verification of its accuracy, suitability and applicability by
a licensed engineer, architect or other professional. AISC, AISCM, and SSC disclaim any liability arising
Trademearks licensed fromfrom information provided by others or from the unauthorized use of the information contained in this
AISC spreadsheet.
Project: Copious Parking Date: 8/18/2017 page 1
Description: 4 Level Parking Structure w/ Center Ramp
Client: YOUR FAVORITE FABRICATOR, Inc.
User: John Doe

Steel Surface Area Estimation from Typical Bay Information

Typical Bays
Bay Width (Girder Length) 20.0 ft # of Bays 2
Bay Length ( Beam Length) 24.0 ft # of Bays 2
Number of Floors 4

Typical Interior Beams Typical Exterior Beams

Depth Bf Tw Depth Bf Tw
134 20.7 6.50 0.35 157 17.7 6.00 0.3
Include Top Flange
0
Number of Interior Beam Lines 9 Number of Exterior Beam Lines 2
Surface Area per Foot of Length 5.02 ft2/ft Surface Area per Foot of Length 4.40 ft2/ft
Total Surface Area per Beam 120 ft2 Total Surface Area per Beam 106 ft2

Typical Interior Girders Typical Exterior Girders

Depth Bf Tw Depth Bf Tw
154 18 7.50 0.355 156 17.9 6.02 0.315

Include Top Flange

0 1
Number of Interior Girder Lines 1 Number of Exterior Girder Lines 2
Surface Area per Foot of Length 4.82 ft2/ft Surface Area per Foot of Length 4.44 ft2/ft
Total Surface Area per Girder 96 ft2 Total Surface Area per Girder 89 ft2

Surface Area per Square Foot of Floor 1.634 ft2/ft2 1.63391

Steel Weight 14.4 lbs/ft2

Typical Interior Columns

Surface Area Total Column
per Foot of Surface Area
Level Size Height Depth Bf Tw Height (ft2/ft) (ft2)
1 199 12.00 ft 13.7 8.00 0.305 4.90 58.8 516.0
2 199 12.00 ft 13.7 8.00 0.305 4.90 58.8 516.0
3 199 12.00 ft 13.7 8.00 0.305 4.90 58.8 516.0
4 199 12.00 ft 13.7 8.00 0.305 4.90 58.8 516.0
5 199 0.00 ft 13.7 8.00 0.305 4.90 0.0 0.0
6 192 0.00 ft 14.0 14.50 0.44 7.09 0.0 0.0
7 192 0.00 ft 14.0 14.50 0.44 7.09 0.0 0.0
8 192 0.00 ft 14.0 14.50 0.44 7.09 0.0 0.0
9 192 0.00 ft 14.0 14.50 0.44 7.09 0.0 0.0
10 192 0.00 ft 14.0 14.50 0.44 7.09 0.0 0.0

Total Surface Area per Column Line: 235 ft2

Total Weight per Column Line: 2064 lbs
Project: Copious Parking Date: 8/18/2017 page 2
Description: 4 Level Parking Structure w/ Center Ramp
Client: YOUR FAVORITE FABRICATOR, Inc.
User: John Doe

Typical Exterior Columns

Surface Area Total Column
per Foot of Surface Area
Level Size Height Depth Bf Tw Height (ft2/ft) (ft2)
1 199 12.00 ft 13.7 8.00 0.305 4.90 58.8 516.0
2 199 12.00 ft 13.7 8.00 0.305 4.90 58.8 516.0
3 199 12.00 ft 13.7 8.00 0.305 4.90 58.8 516.0
4 199 12.00 ft 13.7 8.00 0.305 4.90 58.8 516.0
5 192 0.00 ft 14.0 14.50 0.44 7.09 0.0 0.0
6 192 0.00 ft 14.0 14.50 0.44 7.09 0.0 0.0
7 192 0.00 ft 14.0 14.50 0.44 7.09 0.0 0.0
8 192 0.00 ft 14.0 14.50 0.44 7.09 0.0 0.0
9 192 0.00 ft 14.0 14.50 0.44 7.09 0.0 0.0
10 192 0.00 ft 14.0 14.50 0.44 7.09 0.0 0.0

Total Surface Area per Column Line: 235 ft2

Total Weight per Column Line: 2064 lbs

Total Column Surface Area per Square Foot of Floor: 0.276 ft2/ft2
Total ColumnWeight per Square Foot of Floor: 2.419 lbs/ft2

Structure Totals
Surface Area per Steel Weight per
Square Foot of Floor Square Foot of Floor
Floor Framing 1.634 ft2/ft2 Floor Framing 14.358 lbs/ft2
Columns 0.276 ft2/ft2 Columns 2.419 lbs/ft2
Total Surface Area of Steel per Square Foot of
Floor 1.909 ft2/ft2 16.8 lbs/ft2

Total Suspended Floor Area: 7680 ft2

Total Steel Surface Area: 14665 ft2
Total Steel Weight: 64 Tons
Estimate Volume of Paint or Fire Protection:
Paint Thickness: 12 mils Fire Protection Thickness: 2.5 in
Total Paint Volume: 14.7 ft3 (No waste) Total Paint Volume: 36,662 ft3 (No waste)
109.7 Gallons

Parking Garages - Adjust Quantities to Parking Structure Terminology

0 Total Parking Area: 7680 ft2
Include Parking below the lowest suspended steel floor.
Typical Floor Area per Space:
1 320 ft^2
Approximate Number of Spaces: 24 spaces
Steel Surface Area per Space: 611 ft2 per space
Steel Weight per Space: 5369 lbs per space
Example Floor Layout
Bay Width
(Girder Legth)
(Beam Length)
Bay Length

3 Bays along Bay Length = Building Length

1

1 2 3 4
4 Bays along Bay Width = Building Width

Number of Interior Beam Line = 11

Number of Exterior Beam Line = 2
Number of Interior Girder Line = 2
Number of Exterior Girder Line = 2
Example Floor Layout w/ Ramp (Center Bay is ramp for two bays)
Bay Width
(Girder Legth)
(Beam Length)
Bay Length

3 Bays along Bay Length = Buidling Length

1

Ramp Down

Sloping Girders

1 2 3 4
4 Bays along Bay Width = Building Width

Number of Interior Beam Line = 11

Number of Exterior Beam Line = 2
Number of Interior Girder Line = 3 ===> 2 Horizontal Lines + 4 sloped girders (4 girders = 1 girder line)
Number of Exterior Girder Line = 2