You’re a builder visiting your jobsite the day after the trades have finished their installations, and you immediately realize something is wrong. The brand new joists you carefully installed have been cut, drilled or otherwise mangled!
Welcome To Your Worst Nightmare!
Plumbers, electricians and HVAC contractors have left their marks, altering your floor system so their work could proceed in the easiest manner. If a joist was interfering with the most convenient installation path, someone decided it would be OK to cut or drill it. As a builder, you know that won’t fly.
How Do I Fix this?
Now, your challenge is to fix the damage so the floor system will perform safely and comfortably while doing your best to minimize unplanned additional costs and construction delays.
Depending upon the type of floor joist or truss used in the floor system, it may be necessary to consult an engineer who can assess the damage and prescribe a specific fix for each problem. Work slows or ceases until the engineer’s report comes back and you do the repairs. Meanwhile, the culprits are off to other jobs, merrily wielding their reciprocating saws and drills.
Open Web Helps
TRIFORCE® open web joists enjoy fewer needed repairs because their open configuration offers built-in clearances for MEP systems.
But unfortunately, TRIFORCE® joists get violated too. Happy to report there’s a convenient and immediate solution when that happens.
Free Repair Details To The Rescue!
We can’t control the actions of everyone on the jobsite, but we do anticipate those actions. TRIFORCE® is a stock product with established structural capabilities, and experience has told us what alterations are commonly made to our joists in the field. As a result, Barrette Structural Distribution has been able to engineer Common Repair Details designed to restore altered joists to normal strength.
These repairs, some fifteen in number, can be downloaded for free from the TRIFORCE® website. You can then follow these repair specifications to fix compromised joists immediately. If required, you can even have those details certified with an engineer’s seal… at no cost. For convenience sake, materials required for these repairs are likely available on all jobsites.
Acknowledging that we haven’t “seen it all” yet, a builder may be faced with an alteration that isn’t covered by one of the TRIFORCE® common repairs. In that case, Barrette Structural Distribution’s engineering staff can quickly produce a custom repair detail to restore the joist.
There is always a fix. Another reason TRIFORCE® offers peace of mind underfoot!
Good day.
Most areas I work in for Ontario would require a sealed drawing on repairs.
The drawings that I been sent showing repair details, are they available with a seal?
Good day Mark,
Repair details can be sealed but, in that case, this would be as per project. This means the Professional Engineer might have specific question for you before applying his seal. You can always contact your Account Manager for more details.
Thanks for choosing TRIFORCE,
Caroline