Engineered Floor Joist

bellerose

A homeowner called me. They are selling the house and the buyers had
a home inspector who is also a civil engineer in to inspect. On one of the floor joists in the basement he found that the web next to the flange was damaged. It looked like someone hit it with a hammer a few times during install 15 years ago.It was confined to an area the size of a few square inches. No evidence of deflection since being built.
I installed plywood to both sides, 8 foot long, screwed and glued. In home depot this morning they were having a breakfast and a rep from the company was there so I told him and he said a new joist should be sistered in
next to it. It spans about 12 feet. I thought that was overkill so he advised I call the company directly and talk to their engineers which I did.
They did not know how to repair it but thought my solution sounded OK.
I thought if anyone should know they should but they did not. Very strange

camas

That's the thing with engineered products - they're engineered. That means that each little aspect is responsible for something and if it's compromised than the whole idea falls apart. I seem to remember guidelines saying that you must not nail into or drill through the body. That drove the subs nuts, but it does make sense. The more holes and nails and screws the weaker the member becomes. That's how they get away with crap glued together or I-beams that look so flimsy.

Teetorbilt

bell, you changed an I-beam into a cored box beam. Provided that you used some decent plywood to create the box, it should pass inspection anywhere.

You can drill holes in the web of most I-beams as long as they are round or eliptical and are rather small in respect to the web. You see this done all of the time on aircraft, racing components and spacecraft, they are called lightening holes and remove excess weight without compromising structural integrity. I would suggest that you call the manufacturer of the lam beams prior to ventilating their beams, one would have to know the tensile strength of their particular particleboard to know the size of the holes that would be allowed.

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