ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Photos for General Discussion I-Joist Drilling

John,
What sort of material is that in them I-Beams?.
Is it some sort of Laminated Timber?.
I was always told that all penetrations though large wooden beams, had to be on the centre-line of the vertical width of the beam.
I'm told that the compressional forces on the beam materials are zero at this point.
Sorry to pick holes in your work, mate.
Nice pictures!.



[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 04-03-2005).]

Mike, the center web is OSB(oriented strand board) and is probably about ½" thick. The compression and tension forces are dealt with the 2x3 top and bottom chords. http://www.osbguide.com/osb.html
steve

reno could you pass along the URL for that datasheet? I have had many a debate with (blockhead) co-workers in real life about this and I would love to see some datasheets that I might pass on. At my shop it seems each guy has his own opinion about what can and can't be done to I beams and Glue-Lams..

Here are some links for hole info. http://www.trusjoist.com/PDFFiles/2031.pdf http://www.lpcorp.com/productfiles/1782LPI20W32US00904.pdf http://www.gp.com/build/DocumentViewer.aspx?repository=BP&elementid=3022

steve

Info here as well:

https://www.electrical-contractor.net/ubb/Forum18/HTML/000053.html

Thank you, Ryan. The link you posted is essentially th same as the one posted in the thread I was referring to....I had thought I'd made it easy enough to find the thread from last December.

With the spec sheet in hand, I was able to allay the fears of those who had been taught "no holes," etc. I really don't know how the job could have been completed had I been confined to the "knock-outs."

As a general practice, I did try to place my holes closer to the middle of the web, but I also had many long pulls, and the ductwork usually filled the space, forcing me to work near the edges.

The spec sheet says "an 1 1/2" hole may be made anywhere in the web." I took full advantage of this, as my holes were 7/8".

These joists have webs made of a material similar to particle board, and most seemed to be about 3/4" thick, though some had webs as thick as 1 1/2". The 'flanges' are of pine lumber, approximating a 2x4 with a milled slot for the web. They are manufactured to order, and are made in any length you want. The lumber part is spliced with glued finger-joints, and the webs appear to be butt-glued with a hot-melt glue. Joints are, of course, staggered.

These joists really are an engineering marvel. When you consider that many of these allow an eight inch hole to be drilled right in the middle of the span, and it does nothing to the structural performance...truly amazing.

Are you using a generic spec sheet or one from the the manufacturer of that particular joist??

"the webs appear to be butt-glued with a hot-melt glue."

Are you sure? I certainly wouldn't want to be upstairs with a fire rageing below in a building constructed with hot-melt glue!