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Steel Beam Drilling, Notching and Holes
Bolt holes for the connections, service holes through the web, notches to clear existing structure. All of it set out from the engineer’s details before the beam leaves for site.
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Send us your engineer’s drawings and we’ll price the steel and the processing together — one order, one delivery, one point of contact.
What gets drilled and why
Bolt holes are the common ones. They fix the beam to a column, to a padstone plate, or to another member where two beams meet. Service holes go through the web so that pipes and cables can pass through the beam instead of dropping below it and costing you headroom. Notching is a different operation again, taking a bite out of a flange so the steel clears something that is already in the way at a bearing.
None of this is unusual work. What matters is the conditions it happens in, because drilling beforehand, with the beam properly supported on trestles and the positions taken straight off a drawing, is a good deal more reliable than a mag drill and a ladder once the steel is already sitting in the opening. Do it once, in the right place.
Where holes can and cannot go
A hole takes material out. The section was sized on the assumption that material was there, so removing some of it changes the sums the engineer did. How much it changes them depends almost entirely on where you put it.
Shear is highest close to the supports and lowest around mid-span, while bending is carried mainly in the flanges, which is why a hole through the web towards the middle of a beam is usually the least troublesome place to put one. Move the same hole nearer a support and it begins eating into capacity that is being used. Go through a flange and you are into a different order of problem, because the flanges are doing most of the work. Notching a flange at a bearing is the worst of the lot, thinning the section at the exact point where the load is being handed down into the padstone.
So position, diameter and spacing come off the calculations. If the drawings do not show them, ask before the steel is drilled.
What we need from you
Send a marked-up drawing showing hole positions and diameters, and note which face they are drilled from where it makes a difference. Connection details from an engineer or fabricator are ideal and we will work straight from those.
If you are unsure whether a hole is acceptable where you want it, ask now. A beam drilled in the wrong place is usually scrap, and by then the only question left is whose drawing was at fault.
Related services
- Steel Beams Cut to Size
- Welded Cleats, End Plates and Connections
- Galvanised Steel Beams
- All processing and fabrication services
Common questions
Can you drill holes for services through the web?
Yes, where your engineer has confirmed the position and size. Service holes through the web are common and are usually the least intrusive way to get pipes and cables past a beam without losing headroom.
Can you notch a flange?
Notching is possible but it removes material from the part of the section doing most of the work, so your engineer has to detail it.
What if I need holes added after delivery?
Tell us before the beam is processed if you can. Adding holes afterwards means either site drilling, which needs the same engineer approval, or returning the steel.
Do you work from fabrication drawings?
Yes. Send the connection details or fabrication drawings and the holes will be set out from those.
Ready for a price?
Send your drawings or a cutting list and we’ll come back with quantities and a price, steel and processing together. Large and small orders both welcome.
We supply structural steel across London, the South and the Midlands, delivered direct to site. Information on this page is general guidance; specifications for your project must come from your structural engineer.
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