Engineered Floor Joists.......

LEVELBEST

I have a client whos' father says that the ply section of the engineered floor joists is nothing more than particle board and when exposed to a damp crawlspace or other moistures it will just fall apart like cardboard. Anyone have any info or links to info that will tell him differently?
Thank
L

mdshunk

Well, it's not particle board. It's OSB.

If the crawlspace is excessively damp enough to cause OSB to delaminate, that entire home is unfit to live in.

That's my two cents... sorry, I don't have any links to offfer. What I can say is that there's so much resin in the web of I-Joists, I don't see how water would effect them very much. That's just my opinion.

thom

Level, I think your clients father is one of those who thinks he knows everything and anything new (at least less than 50 years old) is crap.

The web is OSB. If you've ever seen OSB that has weathered, it holds up well. The engineered joists hold up better than dimension (which is what he's probably pushing for). Dimension has knots that seriously effect its integrity. If you've been doing this awhile, you've seen broken joists and rafters resulting from knots. Dimension crowns, twists, warps, and breaks. I've used both a lot. Engineered is way better in my opinion.