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Louisiana Pacific wooden I-beams

The next items to arrive were the engineered lumber I-beam flooring joists manufactured by Louisiana Pacific. They were delivered by Fingerle Lumber Company, their local retailer.

The 22 foot long beams are straight as arrows and light enough for two people to carry into the warehouse. These beams are designed and manufactured to provide superior strength and straightness than dimensional lumber.

The beams consist of oriented strand board webs making up their height and parallel strand 2x4s on the top and bottom.

Consequently, they are amazingly strong in compression and can span very long distances without central supports. These joists are spanning 20 feet. They are connected to the block wall on a board with large metal hangers.

Engineered lumber products like these I-joists are now cost-competitive and an environmentally sound alternative to large dimensional lumber for several reasons. First, dimensional lumber large enough for this type of application would need to come from very old and large trees. The wood grown for these joists on the other hand, came from much younger trees that can be sustainably grown and harvested. Second, the webs in these joists could also be made from recycled wood.

Once all of the joists are in place, work will move toward sheathing, electrical and HVAC installation.