I’ve searched the internet for weeks trying to find out how to design and specify a beam without having to pay hundreds of pounds in engineer’s fees. It had been over 20 years since I had attempted any type of calculation on this topic and my confidence level was extremely low. By chance I came across ‘freestad’ and was amazed with its simplicity and flexibility. I was able to refine the loadings to select the optimum beam for my application given the height and width restrictions associated with the installation. My project is now completed and approved by the local Building Control Inspector, thanks to the guidance from ‘Freestad’.