Guidelines are;
1. Staggered
2. Uniform
A laminated beam is a beam that is made of thin layers of a material (Called lamina). An example is glulam beams, which are thin layers of wood glued together to make a large beam.
A biscuit joint is a wood joint which is used in cut grooves in the opposable pieces of wood and uses a 'biscuit' or an oval of wood to give more support. Its much stronger than just gluing two surfaces together. See the related link for more information.
the main advantage of flitch beam is to strengthen the beam and decrease the deflection (∆) in the beam by decreasing elasticity (E) because the elasticity of steel is much bigger than a wood beam. their ratio is about 15 to 20 (n=15 to 20).
With a span of only 8" you can probably use a wood beam, but without a set of plans no one can accurately answer your question.
Shims are flat pieces of metal or wood that are used to adjust for any height differences between the piers and their contact with the desired height of the beam.
wood joints, but their are different types, butt joint, finget joint, dovetail joint etc.
Strength of joint
That will depend on the distance between the points where the beam is supported, as well as the type of wood.
wing joint, feather joint?
In my D&T lesson, I believe I know a couple of wood joints. Here are the ones I can remember: -Finger Joint -Dovetail Joint -Halving Joint -Rabbet Joint
Notch, half notch, and brace joints are the strongest.
it is a 4 in wood beam that gymnasts tumble on and u you want to stay on
The wood will cast a shadow, as the light can not pass through wood.
Furniture, wooden windows, panel doors. Makes a very strong joint where you have wood going in opposite directions such as the corner in a window.
16" on center
The beam is a narrow beam of covered wood set a few feet off the floor. You do basically everything you do on floor on it, but in a more limited area.
A laminated beam is a beam that is made of thin layers of a material (Called lamina). An example is glulam beams, which are thin layers of wood glued together to make a large beam.