Hi friends,

Today is the very last episode of the timber design series.

It's crazy! We have now covered timber for the last 13+ months. It's so much knowledge. For this knowledge, people pay hundreds of dollars to learn this in university classes and seminars. Much of the knowledge you don't even learn in uni. Especially the real world examples that I learned and use in my job as a structural engineer.

We started with episode #1 on the 18th of June 2025.

I am currently thinking about the next steps after the modules. Maybe I turning the timber or concrete design series into a "mini video course".

What do you think?

Today, we'll summarize the timber design series.

Newsletter Archive

For only 5€/month you can access all newsletters we've ever published here: https://structuralbasics.kit.com/products/exclusive-newsletter​

You can also access the reinforced concrete design series and the engineering mechanics series.​

And of course all future newsletters!

All newsletters can be accessed → here ←. A few are for free but most you can only access with the membership. (We'll summarize all newsletters from the reinforced concrete series down below.)

With the membership, you will also get 30% off all module's and all future products.

The summary of the timber design series

We started out the series by introducing the properties of timber and the design verfications that you need for most elements like beams, slabs, columns, etc. Below you can see which articles you can access for free and which once you can access when you are join the 5€/month members community (=paid):

• ​Introduction to the timber design series (Ep. #1) - free
• ​Material properties of timber (Ep. #2) - free
• ​Tension verification of timber (Ep. #3) - paid
• ​Compression verification of timber (Ep. #4) - paid
• ​Bending verification of timber (Ep. #5) - paid
• ​Compression perpendicular to the grain (Ep. #6) - free
• ​Shear verification of timber (Ep. #7) - paid
• ​Deflection verification of timber (Ep. #8) - paid
• ​Torsion verification of timber (Ep. #9) - paid
• ​Lateral torsional buckling of timber beams (Ep. #10) - paid
• ​Tensile capacity of nails (Ep. #19) - paid
• ​Tensile capacity of screws (Ep. #20) - free
• ​Tensile capacity of bolts (Ep. #21) - paid
• ​Tensile capacity of staples (Ep. #22) - paid
• ​Timber connection design (Ep. #18) - free
• ​Shear capacity of timber connections (Ep. #23) - free
• ​Shear capacity of nails (Ep. #24) - free
• ​Shear capacity of screws (Ep. #25) - paid
• ​Shear capacity of bolts (Ep. #26) - paid
• ​Shear capacity of dowels (Ep. #27) - paid

Then we also covered methods that are essential for timber elements:

• ​Vibration analysis (Ep. #13) - paid

Then we continued by showing all design and verification steps of designing timber elements:

• ​Design of timber beams (Ep. #11) - free
• ​Design of timber columns (Ep. #12) - paid
• ​Design of a timber joist floor (Ep. #14) - paid
• ​CLT floor design (Ep. #15) - paid
• ​Design of timber stud walls (Ep. #16) - free
• ​Design of CLT walls (Ep. #17) - paid
• ​Momentstiff timber connection (Ep. #28) - free
• ​Double timber beam design (Ep. #29) - paid

If you are new to the newsletter and you're not sure about the quality of the articles, here's what other's are saying about it.

Structural Basics is an outstanding newsletter that makes structural engineering concepts accessible - even for people without an engineering background. What I appreciate most are the clear, step-by-step how-to guides. They’re incredibly practical and easy to follow.
I really enjoy the newsletter, which keeps me informed and inspired. Although the site is designed with non-engineers in mind, I find it just as valuable as an engineer who doesn’t specialize in structural design. It’s a perfect mix of depth and simplicity.
Highly recommended!
​Leo, Engineer and Architect from Italy

I highly recommend Laurin's 'Structural Basics' newsletter for his concise practical insights and clear design methodology. Laurin offers coverage on a range of topics from timber detailing to steel connections and welding. A great resource for designers seeking innovative engineering solutions and ideas.
​James O'Reilly, Civil Engineer and founder of Flocode​

This is one of the best newsletters for those in structural design starting their careers with the help of structural design standards and national documents for Eurocode 1-8. Laurin manages to explain and highlight the fundamentals of structural design according to Eurocodes in a simple way along with other related structural design topics. Anyone who is teaching future structural designers should point their students to the website and newsletter. The content is also very good for experienced designers like me to review and help me doing my own structural designs.
​Tómas Ellert Tómasson, Structural Engineer from Iceland

Final Words

Alright, wow! This was really the last episode of the timber design series!

It's time for a new series. Hope to see you next Wednesday for the next newsletter. I will announce the next newsletter soon!

As mentioned earlier, all future episodes can also be accessed with the Structural Basics membership: https://structuralbasics.kit.com/products/exclusive-newsletter​

Enjoy the rest of the week and your weekend.

Let’s design better structures together,

Laurin.

​↓ Follow me on Social Media. ↓

​​​