Estimate post load, tributary area load, beam reaction, deck post load, porch post load, compression stress, footing pressure, soil bearing utilization, and simplified post capacity. Use this post load calculator for deck posts, porch posts, wood posts, column supports, beam supports, and preliminary structural planning.
Tributary load:
The calculator multiplies tributary length by tributary width, then applies dead load, live load, and roof or snow load.
Beam reaction:
The calculator can estimate a simple beam reaction from beam line load and beam span, then add any manual beam reaction.
Post compression:
The calculator divides total post load by post area and compares the stress to the entered allowable compression value.
Footing pressure:
The calculator divides post load by footing area and compares it to the entered allowable soil bearing value.
A post load calculator helps estimate how much weight a post or support carries before checking post size, footing size, and soil bearing.
It can help compare tributary area, beam reaction, point load, total post load, compression stress, footing pressure, and simplified utilization.
Your result shows estimated tributary area, area load, tributary load, beam reaction, point load, post self weight, total post load, compression stress, allowable compression, footing area, footing pressure, required footing area, and simplified utilization. These are planning estimates only.
Estimate the tributary area supported by the post, multiply by the design load, then add beam reactions, point loads, and the post’s self weight.
Tributary area is the portion of floor, deck, or roof area that transfers load to one post. It is commonly estimated from spacing between supports in each direction.
Divide the total post load by the footing bearing area. Compare that pressure with the allowable soil bearing value for the site.
No. Final post and footing design should follow local code, material standards, post bracing, connection hardware, frost depth, soil bearing, eccentricity, uplift, lateral loads, and professional review when needed.