The paper’s main goal is to present the changes in elastic wave propagation caused by different types of defects in media with complex geometry. Elastic wave propagation is a phenomenon that does not destroy the examined structure, due to this reason it is implemented in non-destructive testing (NDT). The article shows the results of experimental examinations of guided wave propagation on steel specimens, made as isolated nodes of typical civil engineering steel frames (I- and H-sections connected by welding). The registration of the waves was made in two ways: a) contact – using PZT sensors glued on the specimen surface and b) contactless – using Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV). Seven specimens were examined to realize three research tasks in the determination of the influence of: 1. Corrosion, 2. Weld damage, and 3. Different types of holes, on guided wave propagation. In every research task, at least three levels of damage were considered. Collected signals were analyzed in both: the time and frequency domains and then compared one to the other. To find the changes in wave propagation, the maps obtained using LDV scanning were used.