understanding steel beam sizes

huangyhg

understanding steel beam sizes
iam an electrician trying to read and understand the structural drawings of a hospital project that i am working on.
in effort to properly locate sleeves for conduits in poured-in-place concrete walls, i need to determine the depth of beams.
is there a rule-of-thumb for determining beam size or do i need a chart or manual?
examples:  
(1)is a w27x94 beam 27" deep, or is the actual depth determined by the weight per foot?
(2)is a w14x311 column 14" square, or is the actual size determined by the weight per foot?
any help is appreciated.
a w27 beam is nominally 27" deep but the actual depth will increase as the the weight per foot increases.  the lightest w27 is 84# with a depth of 26.71" and the heaviest is 178# at 27.81".  there is no general rule for the flange width since wf shapes are rolled in several diferent series.  
the w14 is rolled in a wide range of sizes from 22# (th=13.74"  and flange=5.000") to 730# (depth=22.42" and flange=17.89".)
the w14x311 you mentioned is:
depth=17.12
width=16.23
if you need more info you could try going online to a site of a supplier like ryerson for example.
regards,
-mike
check out this page from efunda.  you can check off what beams you want and it will give you section dimensions.  they were right for the few i checked.