Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 24, 2000 01:26am | #1

   *
   Lumber.

   blue

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 24, 2000 02:05pm | #2

   *Blue is a closet Floor truss lover. He'll come around one of these days......................(-:We gotta get this in the FAQ one of these days. Joe, this has been discussed in great detail in several threads over the past few months. Try searching the archives. If you don't find what you want, post back and we can hash it out again.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 26, 2000 06:28am | #3

   *Joe, I've used MacMillan truss joists in many high end homes and they have performed very well. Three suggestions; 1) It's the glue that makes them quiet, be sure the framer glues everything hangers and all, 2) don't go with the maximum spacing, add a few extra on the long spans to get less bounce, 3)get the lumber yard in the loop early so the engineering is done when you submit the plans to the city.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 26, 2000 06:41am | #4

   *Joe on average spans say 16' or less the more I use TJI's the more I like them. Skip

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 26, 2000 01:13pm | #5

   *I think that the use of floor trusses in a floor that is to be insulated is poor design, at best. Also, a minor disadvantage of floor trusses is that they produce a very thick floor system - the ones I have installed have been > 18" tall. Another thing to think about, as I learned here at BT, is that some building jurisdictions require fire blocking to section off the trussed floor systems into smaller quadrants. I have no personal experience with this but other BTers say this can be problematic.If you don't have to insulate, and the thickness is not an issue, trusses make a very firm floor. Another advantage is that trusses give all kinds of bays for running mechanicals, electrical, etc.As far as the economy of things, it gets a bit hard to figure, as one of the main advantages of floor trusses is that they can span larger distances, meaning less support (girders, bearing walls, etc.) is necessary. You can save money here. This really works out nicely, for example, if you want to build a 2 story home and you want a very open floor plan, or large rooms, on the first floor. Which ever floor joist system you select, ask for an L/480 design rather than the standard (in my area) L/360 if you want no/reduced floor bounce.

2. 
   joe_pulkowski | Jun 26, 2000 01:25pm | #6

   *
   Any strong opinions on material for floors?