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FAQ: Engineered Wood Products

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What kind of beam should I use for this renovation?
L.B. writes:
I am interested in opening up an upstairs bedroom. Currently the room is divided by a load bearing wall which was originally the exterior wall of the house. My plan is to remove the existing load bearing wall and replace it with some type of beam. I'd like to minimize the height of the beam without sacrificing strength. The beam needs to span the 14 ft wide room and support the original roof of the house (approx. 12 ft to interior load bearing wall) as well as the roof of the addition (approx. 10 ft to the new exterior wall). What type of material is best suited for this purpose. How do I determine the size of the beam?

Paul Fisette answers:
This situation sounds like a perfect case for the use of LVL or laminated veneer lumber. LVL is sold by several different manufacturers in several different stress ratings. The higher the E-value or stress rating, the farther it can span. Also the deeper or thicker it is, the farther you can span. LVL usually comes in a 1 3/4" thickness. so you can attach several layers side-by-side to achieve the thickness that you need for your restricted height. But you should be able to span the distance that you describe. You should provide your building materials supplier a sketch of the the structure you want to support and they will calculate the loads and size the beam for you as part of the service attached to the sale of the material.

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What about wood foundations?
J. C. writes:
Paul, what can you tell me about wood basements? Any information that you can provide for me will be greatly appreciated.

Paul Fisette answers:
Its difficult to answer your question without some more detail. My suggestions will vary based on the quantities and qualities of the material that is recycled. If it is salvaged/recycled lumber here are a couple of interesting web sites you might check out. One is a listing of suppliers of salvaged/recycled materials the second is a homepage for a Canadian retailer who specializes in salvaged/recycled building materials. http://www.ran.org/ran/ran_campaigns/wood_con/
wood_sources.html#salvage http://www.happyharry.com/companyinfo.html If you are looking for ways to market a small quantity of material (from a small demolition job, for example.) I might suggest contacting your local lumber and building materials dealer and asking the sales personnel which contractors in the area are particularly environmentally oriented. There is a definite niche market of consumers and contractors who are willing to pay the (usually) higher cost of building with "green" or recycled materials. Hope this helps.

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Should I switch to engineered wood products?
J.W. writes:
I am having a house built on Long Island, NY. The builder we chose seems to have just switched over to Engineered building Materials, i e; OSB sheathing and sub flooring, and wood I beam joists. We looked at several of the houses he built and none of them contained these products, but He is using them in our development. This was a surprise and a disappointment to me. I read your article "Choosing between OSB and Plywood". It seemed to me that according to the article that I would do better to stick with plywood on the roof and sub floors. The foyer and kitchen will have a mud base. Am I right in this assessment? He is also using wood I beams which I am unfamiliar with. How do they compare with conventional joists? Are they replaced size for size? What about drilling for electrical and plumbing? Are there any other factors I should consider or be aware of?

The article "Choosing between OSB and Plywood" was very helpful. Thank you. I really hate being concerned about something have no knowledge of. They are suppose to start framing our house later this week so if you can refer me to any of this info I would be very grateful.

Paul Fisette answers:
It is my opinion that using plywood on a roof is a good idea. I do think that osb is fine on a roof deck too, I just think that plywood is a little safer if things go wrong.

I think that osb is fine for subflooring in many applications, as the article points out. You just have to be aware of the limitations poited out in the article --- like don't use it under tile or thin resilient flooring.

Engineered Wood I-joists are great. Stronger, straighter, more stable, stiffer, etc. than sawn lumber. You can knock out the "knock outs" provided for electrical wires to save time and (supposedly) money. And you can cut out sections of the web for ductwork and plumbing. Manufacturers provide literature that spells out the acceptable sizes and location of the cutouts. PAY STRICT ATTENTION TO THESE GUIDELINES. The substitution may or may not be on a size-for-size basis. The I-joists are stronger and stiffer, so the size also can be different. Span, species, loads, etc. dictate size. You should feel comfortable with this product. If it is the first job that your builder has used the product on, I would hope that he/she gets the technical support needed from the manufacturer regarding fastening and hardware connecting (like joist hanger requirements).

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