palkki

Palkki is a Finnish noun used to describe a long, narrow, rectangular piece of material that serves as a structural or supporting element in construction and manufacturing. The term covers components made from wood, metal, plastic, or composites and emphasizes the piece’s function as a beam, bar, or rail rather than its exact material. In architectural and engineering contexts, palkki denotes a generic structural member with a rectangular or similar cross-section.

In carpentry and building, puupalkki refers to wooden beams and joists that support floors, ceilings, and roof structures. In metalworking and civil engineering, metallipalkki describes bars and sections such as rectangular bars and structural profiles; common types include I-beams (H-palkki), U-channels (U-palkki), and L-shaped angles (kulmapalkki).

Sizes and standards for palkki vary by country and application. In technical drawings, lengths are given in meters and cross-section dimensions in millimeters. The term is widely used in catalogs, specifications, and construction plans as a general designation for a load-bearing member.

Related concepts in English include beam, bar, and girder, and in Finnish, compounds such as puupalkki and metallipalkki are used to specify the material context of the palkki.