Structural steel design and quantification

Gareth · September 15, 2025, 7:34pm

Is there a way of quantifying structural steel by weight? I use a plugin called Deca Steel, which helps create rough structural frames. I want to gather this information and bring it into Plusspec, then use it for pricing. Pricing using tonnage, so I would need the weights of all the members.

I can’t see an option to make a BIM component for weight.
I don’t see an option in components for either creating new members or bringing in an item to become a component
And I don’t see in the custom estimation tool a way of adding weights

Thanks,

Gareth.

Andrew · September 17, 2025, 4:25am

Hi Gareth

Yes, I do this on larger projects via the takeoff tool and use recipes in Edit. See more. You can change lineal to KG or tonnes on the proviso you know the weight per lineal metre.
TIP: The weight of a steel beam is indicated by the numbers at the end of the name EG 150UB14, which is equal to 14kg per metre.

In the image below, I show a 5m long 150UB14 and the recipe I used to change the linear length into weight. 5mx14kg is 70Kg