I need an I-joist to span 30 feet 12” high. People have the misconception that I-joist and LVL beams are the replacement for steel. These are engineered products and they have limitations. The general rule of thumb is an I-joist will free span about 2’ further than its dimensional counter part the 2x8, 2x10 and 2x12. However they still have to be engineered for height, spacing and load bearing for each job. The same is true for the LVL beam. They come different heights and thickness ply’s (1 ¾” per ply) and when laminated have specifications for fastening and gluing. Many I-joists come with knockout blocks for running plumbing and electrical. You have to follow an engineered schedule as to how many you can use and the permitted size and location where you can remove the knockouts. So when someone offers you a great price on I-joist make sure they will fit your need and that they were properly stored and kept out of the weather.
I really got a deal on OSB this week. I saved a lot of money too. This is one of my favorites next to I-joist comments. Did you ever notice the different colors on the edge of the product? This usually signifies the manufacturer. Some manufacturers can’t make the OSB to the thickness so it has to be sanded down, opening the grain to moisture and swelling. The other problem with not pressing OSB to it’s thickness without sanding is it doesn’t have the density and stiffness it should. You end up with a weaker product giving way to sagging on your roof and a loss of holding power for your nails. This will result in nail popping on roofs and vinyl siding nails backing out and coming loose. Variation of thickness is a problem on cheaper OSB. It only has to make the inspection if it checks out after four checks. The best OSB product I’ve found is Grant, signified by its grey edge. They make it to size, seal the edges, press the rough deck side for slippage (not sanded) and check for thickness in eighteen different areas. Recently I found stores buying Grant rejects and passing them off as the same product at a lesser price. All OSB is not the same so don’t buy for price.
I can get drywall at the big store for a lot less money right now. Sure you can, but what are you buying? One of my friends works at one of those big stores. He told me I couldn’t buy what they buy. They have trucks waiting to haul away the imperfects. This classification can be because of bad paper, soft gypsum, damage or square ness issues. They like to refer to this product as “distressed” drywall. Customer testimony tells me the paper can bubble after painting. The gypsum will continually crumble out the opening of an electrical box or the screws seem to shoot right through. Everything carries a known brand name, but not the manufactures warranty. You can always “roll the dice” and hope you don’t have a problem.
There are three major brands of bagged redi-mixed cement. Two of which are commonly seen in the big stores and in smaller sized bags. You see these on special all of the time there. What you don't see is some stores specify their own special mix, which in turn gives you a cheaper product with a lower performance rating. Our redi-mix comes with a 3000 lb strength rating. The cheaper brands are usually 2000 to 2500. I've had a lot of customer testimony that they've poured a large slab and it never really set up. It was like hard sand. In today's world, volume buying isn't the reason for low prices on building material. Now more than ever we live in a buyer beware society.
How many bags of redi-mix do I need? The simple equation is multiply the length times the width and then divide that by two if you have 80 lb bags. This is for projects the thickness of a 2x4. A bag of redi-mix does 2 square feet in this example. A full pallet of 80 lb redi-mix has 42 bags on it. This is equal to one cubic yard. A cubic yard is 3'x3' square and 3' high.
Treated lumber, what a mess that market is in! Is it treated with CCA, MCQ, and ACQ or by refusal? What in the world is retention? Since eliminating CCA from residential use except in wood foundations, treated lumber has become more expensive and harder to understand.
Let's start with retention, which is the way they determine the use of a piece of treated wood. The 60 rating is for below ground use as in wood foundations and poles for barns. The 40 rating is common in 4x4 post used on decks and is meant for ground contact, even though it's buried. (It's unlawful to use 60 for residential application even though it happens.) A 25 rating is for outside use, but can not come in contact with the ground. The 40 and 25 is treated now with ACQ since special interest decided CCA was unsafe around homes. Being expensive the ACQ isn't used for retention past 40. Now we have MCQ which is less corrosive to metal and fasteners due to its lower retention value.
According to searches on the internet the retention varies according to climate and in Michigan 20 retention should be the lowest deck and rail rating with no ground contact. There are some big stores using less than 10 retention and some talk in doing away with labeling the wood with its rating. This only serves to confuse the public since to them treated is treated. If you're building a deck keep the unused material damp and out of the sun or cover it. This keeps it from twisting or warping until it is nailed down. Then get it sealed or stained. This lower treatment combined with grades like "patio" gives the buyer a false sense of security in deciding on his purchase.