Floor Joist Alternatives

You better have a very fat wallet and an engineer to sign off for the modification in mass.

Floor joist alternatives.

Using the same size material and using one size smaller. Let s examine three of these materials. While it is a good idea to replace rotted material with 2x8s it may require some notching to fit between the sub floor and ledger board. Here are some alternatives to floor joist replacement that will save money and keep you from tearing up the entire floor.

Modern alternatives are lighter use less wood and can span greater distances than the solid joists. The installation methods are pretty standard and are therefore known by most carpenters. These composite joists are lighter and use far less timber than a solid joist for an equivalent span. Engineered joists are straighter more uniform resist warping and twisting and provide a larger nailing or gluing surface when compared to standard dimensional lumber used for wood floor joists.

These are the right choice for both residential and non residential floor and roof joist construction. Other than engineered joists which are also made of wood products the only alternative are steel i beams with a wood nailer. Several popular options include solid lumber lvl wood i beams steel joists and open web floor trusses. Engineered floor joists are custom cut at the factory to the precise length required so time and waste are minimized on the construction site.

Engineered wood products have pushed the design boundaries to lengths that seemed unachievable a few short years ago. There are 2 ways to sister joists. It has the added benefit of being adjustable onsite. Engineered floor joists are one of these new wonder products that give the architect.

That is of course you want to go complete commercial with steel and concrete panel floors. Generally newer home floor joists are made from 2x8s or new engineered i beams older homes however may have 2x6s instead. Also called dimensional lumber these floor joists are easy to get and require no special design for installation. I joists provide a high performance alternative to dimension lumber joists for floor and roof applications.

Dimensional floor joists are the old method for framing floors. A compelling engineered wood floor alternative triforce costs less than open web trusses yet is as strong and as rigid. Engineered floor joists a better alternative ad 1 modern technology has improved the materials available to the construction industry. Basically a tree is cut down and milled to produce 2 10 s or 2 12 s.

Open joist triforce. This open joist triforce is a compelling alternative in engineered wood floor systems well worth investigating.