I have two questions:
1. The “ceiling” of my basement consists of exposed IPI 500 engineered wood joists which support the first floor. The joists have an overall height of 11 7/8″; the flanges are 1 3/4″ wide by 1 1/2 ” tall. The basement walls (8 feet high) and floor are concrete. My home is about two years old. The wood joists are nailed and glued to the plywood subfloor above them.
Technical information (see www.ipwood.com or www.apawood.org) re: engineered wood joists state the following :
“Except for cutting to length, top and bottom flanges of IPI Joists shall not be cut, drilled or notched.”
If I wish to finish my basement, how then does one affix sheetrock to these joists without violating the stated prohibition of the joist mfr. and engineered wood association? Wouldn’t screwing or nailing sheetrock to the bottom flange of the joists be considered “drilling” of the joist flange?
2. My garage ceiling is also consists of IPI500 engineered wood joists – which support the living area above. I would like to provide storage space above the garage doors by utilizing storage platforms that are bolted to the garage ceiling joists (see Dec 2005 issue of Fine Homebuilding, p.55). The storage systems (e.g.., HyLoft ONRAX) can support about 250 lbs.
Is it possible to employ these ceiling mounted storage systems if the joists are engineered wood joists? If so, would it not violate the warning not to “drill” the joist flange?
Any help will be greatly appreciated. I am a rank amatuer at all this so please keep this in mind when responding.
Thank you very much.
Replies
Wouldn't screwing or nailing sheetrock to the bottom flange of the joists be considered "drilling" of the joist flange?
Short answer: no
I would consider strapping the ceiling before attatching sheetrock. Strapping meaning attatching 1" x 3" lumber @ 16" o.c. perpendicular to the joists and then screwing the blueboard onto the straps
Sorry, o.c. means "on center" forgot you are new to this
Edited 12/13/2005 2:59 pm ET by xosder11
I would agree with you, personally I would use 5/8" drywall and not directly onto the engineered joists. there is a great deal of flex with them, and have seen stress fractures as a result.
Welcome to Breaktime - I see this is your first post.
Screwing drywall to the underside of I-joists is perfectly acceptable.
Hanging stuff from them in your garage probably isn't. I seriously doubt they were designed for that kind of added load.
You could always contact the manufacturer of the i-joists and ask them for guidance on the garage situation. But I'm almost certain they'kll tell ya "NO".
What if instead of hanging the load directly from the bottom of the I joist, he built out the sides so they were flush with 2' or 3' long plywood scabs, glued and screwed (or hand nailed if you prefer), then ran a bolt through the center of the scab to hang the load from?Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Your solution may or may not accomplish anything. We know nothing about the span or loading on the I-joists, or even the spacing. You might be reinforcing one area unnecessarilly, while NOT reinforcing something else that needs reinforced.No way to know without checking out the exact situation in person.
A dog is smarter than some people. It wags its tail and not its tongue.
What if he were to attatch some sort of soldier beam to the bottom of many joists, and then attatched the hanging storage system to the soldier beam. Without knowing how the particular overhead storage system would be installed, I imagine this system would dispurse the added weight over many of the joists rather than just a couple. Im sure that the tech dept at the joist manuracturer would be reluctant to say either way, due to all the variables, but if I were going to go ahead and do it anyway this seems like a good way to go about it in principle.
Edited 12/14/2005 9:34 am ET by xosder11
Why not just do it right, and find out what's actually needed or NOT needed rather than trying to come up with wild schemes?The I-joists system could be overdesigned, underdesigned, or anywhere inbetween. That needs to be determined before any decision is made about adding loading to it.
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. [George Santayana]
Your right. They should consult an engineer or the manufacturer of the product.
Oh, but wait... what if he took six monkeys, 3.5" of velcro, and a pool cue, and... well, mabey talking to the I joist company comes first ;)Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
I like our ideas though ;)
Edited 12/14/2005 12:27 pm ET by xosder11
If you're looking for a second or third opinion, I'd have to agree completely with Boss Hogg on both points. Go ahead and hang your sheetrock, but consult a professional (I-joist supplier or engineering) before hanging stuff from your garage ceiling.
Hey friend,
I wouldn't give a second thought to hanging the drywall either, however if your going to finish your basement, be sure and get the correct allowances for your electrician to drill his holes. Remodeling subs are a crap shoot, at least in the dc area, they don't often work with engineered wood, and you have to really spell it out for them or you could find yourself doing some structural repairs.
I don't have much to day about the garage, you should prepare some kind of cost/benfit analysis. you can get an engineer's report for your garage system installed in your garage for about $350. If they stamp it then it'll work. at least as far as liability goes.
good luck
Welcome to BT....
First I want to congratulate you on the complete post with all the germane info minus the long book version. Bravo!!!!! We get a lot of flakes around here who seem to think that there are people on this forum who are mind readers :-)
Secondly, I think you already got your answer from Boss Hog and others. BTW - BH designs I-joist floor systems at his job so he knows what he is talking about.
Have a good one...
Edited 12/13/2005 7:35 pm ET by Matt
Let me add my pragmatic 2cents: The answers you have gotten are correct and in case you're not exactly sure here's why;Sheetrock screws don't count as "drilling". In this case, drilling means taking a sizable chunk of material out of the flange and that's a no no. Standard sized nails and screws don't do much damage to the fibers unless you go way overboard. The engineered joists you describe are covered in wallboard all the time - sometimes with strapping, more often not. Strapping has many benefits including added rigidity, wider target for screws, etc. but it is not required.Adding load to the bottom flange is not allowed for in engineering calculations, but as a practical matter, a few pounds here or there wouldn't matter much. If you want to lay a simple piece of plywood in the bay and put a box of christmas tree decorations up there I can imagine no problem with that. As an example, deciding to use a double layer of 5/8 rock instead of a single layer adds about 2 1/2 pounds per square foot of weight directly on the bottom flange and no one would think twice about that.