Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 27, 2009 12:59 am Our frames are up and I've noticed a couple of things that I wasn't expecting. Firstly most of the downstairs studs seem to be factory joined, ie. not one length of timber. Secondly the sales rep said the stud spacing would be 450mm. Well downstairs is but upstairs is 600? Are these 2 issues normal practice or is a bit cheapskate?. We are with a project builder. Re: Timber frame observations 2Apr 27, 2009 7:16 am Factory Jointed... What do you mean? Does it look like "Finger" Joint? In terms of the stud spacing... Check your contract...If it says 450mm centres then it should be 450mm centres... Electrical Engineer... Don't hold that against me... And keen owner builder... Mainly the building part!! Re: Timber frame observations 3Apr 27, 2009 7:54 am The studs should really be a single piece of timber. Can you provide a picture? 600mm stud spacing is allowable (used to be the norm) but if you plans specify 450mm you may have an issue. Re: Timber frame observations 4Apr 27, 2009 10:32 am 450mm ground floor & 600mm fitrst floor stud spacing are the norm. In regards to the joined timber studs. Ive seen it before and although not that common will be ok as the loads for the studs are in a downwards direction mostly so should be ok. All frames have to be engineered certified anyways. Re: Timber frame observations 6Apr 27, 2009 7:52 pm Finger jointed timber is generally dearer than solid timber ( LOSP treated primed pine is near double the price of regular treated pine in many sizes), why would they use finger jointed pine studs if they are skimping Re: Timber frame observations 7Apr 27, 2009 8:19 pm Dukekamaya Finger jointed timber is generally dearer than solid timber ( LOSP treated primed pine is near double the price of regular treated pine in many sizes), why would they use finger jointed pine studs if they are skimping WTF?? What has finger jointed got to do with LOSP? LOSP is Light Organic Solvent Preservative Finger jointed pine is generally cheaper than "clear" pine... FJ is used because it can take advantage of short "clear" lengths... Electrical Engineer... Don't hold that against me... And keen owner builder... Mainly the building part!! Re: Timber frame observations 9Apr 27, 2009 9:55 pm I was using the LOSP pine as an example and no I wasn't getting confused at all, I was referring to 3"x2",4"x2" etc. I sell timber for a living and have never seen nor heard of non-treated finger jointed framing pine. Perhaps it simply isn't used here in NSW which would not surprise me. Is it visually (F# or GL#)) or machine graded (MGP)? State to state variations may as well be different countries Re: Timber frame observations 10Apr 27, 2009 10:08 pm Just had a look, it is only F5 and only available in short lengths which would explain the low price. Most frames here spec MGP10 min. for studs, esp on lower floor levels. Re: Timber frame observations 12Apr 28, 2009 7:23 pm Must be good not worrying about bows or twists in them. We have three frame and truss plants near us, none use them which is strange. This is 100% true. You can not hang anything on steel frames. very frustrating 8 8062 Thanks Pulse, thats really helpful and very much appreciated. Also thanks for the pointer on sheathing, thats me watching too many american youtube videos! 6 2813 Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 15924 |