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What Does WT9x17.5 Mean? Structural Tee Explained

Learn what WT9x17.5 means, how the tee relates to a W18x35, its actual dimensions, and why stem direction and connection eccentricity matter.

Practical context

How the steel information fits the project workflow

Splitting a W18×35 through its web produces two WT9×17.5 structural tees.

Use WT properties and project-specific engineering for its actual orientation and loading.

Companion reading and practice

Which dimensions belong to the tee?

For a fictional 10 ft WT9X17.5 piece, the nominal weight is 175 lb. That calculation is independent of whether its flange or stem is shown vertically in a particular drawing view.

Use the tee’s actual dimension fields and the source axis convention when reading its properties. Do not treat it as a complete W shape or assume that the x axis is always the stronger axis. Its placement and connection requirements come from the project detail.

Try it with a sample

Inspect the profile and compare the x- and y-axis properties with their field definitions.

Read the tee reference

Examples are fictional learning exercises. This companion text adds context to the video; the transcript below records the narration.

Primary sources

References and further reading

Use the edition and requirements adopted for the project. These references support further reading; a short video does not reproduce the complete standards.

Published by Quantum Steel Design. Sources and editorial approach · Report a correction · Companion guide updated .

Accessible transcript

What Does WT9x17.5 Mean? Structural Tee Explained transcript

The visible transcript makes the video content available to people and search systems without requiring playback.

  1. What does W T nine by seventeen point five mean on a steel drawing?
  2. W T identifies a structural tee produced from a W-shape. Nine is nominal depth, and seventeen point five is pounds per foot.
  3. Split a W eighteen by thirty-five through its web, and you get two W T nine by seventeen point five tees.
  4. The actual tee depth is eight point eight five inches, and its flange is six inches wide.
  5. The web is point three inches thick, the flange is point four two five, and the weight is seventeen point five pounds per foot.
  6. A tee is unsymmetrical about its horizontal axis, so stem direction, eccentricity, restraint, and connections matter.
  7. Use W T properties and project-specific engineering for the actual loading, orientation, unbraced length, and code.
  8. Explore the full shape at Quantum Steel Design.

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