When someone asks you: "Is it level?" - GIF

**Jon** · Mar 22, 2019, 12:50 PM

When someone asks you: "Is it level?"

**hemmjo** · Mar 22, 2019, 05:43 PM

Very impressive. That appears to be engineered lumber. That would be difficult to do using standard construction grade lumber these days.

**Radioman** · Mar 22, 2019, 10:59 PM

Looks like solid Douglas Fur framing lumber to me?

**Beserkleyboy** · Mar 23, 2019, 12:06 AM

Me thinks that it is either Aussie or Kiwi...definitely 90 x 45 LVL joists (F 17 stress grade mark on one, indicates metric country...) over paired 90 x 45 (=90 x 90) bearers on brick piers. Note treated pine fence boards, brick veneer wall at rear, not pointed, ready for 'rendering' (stucco) finish. Also external support is single skin brick with engaged piers. All typical construction down here. LVL and Engineered I beams have been manufactured here since the early 90's, and came into mainstream use not long after. Almost ALL headers, lintels, beams etc are LVL these days. Much of it treated H2 for mildew and termite resistance or H3 for that and rot resistance. And all local made product (some imported from Canada), is all Radiata Pine, plantation grown in Aus and NZ. A great use of what is basically a shiite wood! Cheers, guys
Jim in Sunny South Coast NSW AUS

**ranald** · Mar 23, 2019, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by Beserkleyboy

Me thinks that it is either Aussie or Kiwi...definitely 90 x 45 LVL joists (F 17 stress grade mark on one, indicates metric country...) over paired 90 x 45 (=90 x 90) bearers on brick piers. Note treated pine fence boards, brick veneer wall at rear, not pointed, ready for 'rendering' (stucco) finish. Also external support is single skin brick with engaged piers. All typical construction down here. LVL and Engineered I beams have been manufactured here since the early 90's, and came into mainstream use not long after. Almost ALL headers, lintels, beams etc are LVL these days. Much of it treated H2 for mildew and termite resistance or H3 for that and rot resistance. And all local made product (some imported from Canada), is all Radiata Pine, plantation grown in Aus and NZ. A great use of what is basically a shiite wood! Cheers, guys
Jim in Sunny South Coast NSW AUS

That is impressive giving the quality of available building timbers today (it was bad enough in the 80's ) . I had enough trouble creating a steel floor structure (for a transportable home in 2 sections; total 15 m by 6.5 m= a 4 bed doctors surgery) at the Woodford folk festival and only had a teen to help me. He has ADD & kept wandering off around the countryside. Problem was, he kept putting down his end of the water level despite many explanations about hanging it up with the bailing tyine attached, preventing one bubble or more entering the water in the line. We had a very limited water supply for the water line& it was all I had at hand in the rush to get the job done. Had to get him to do the welding to keep him at the house site (he was/is very good at welding).
I had set up profiles for the placement of the posts concreted in the hard as rock ground. The owner used his contacts for digging the holes & concreteing in the steel mini posts with flat plate welded on. The main house posts had to be welded onto the flat plates. Problem was the bobcat couldn't auger in the ground so then the owner organised a backhoe (his B-in- Law) which couldn't bore well in the ground either and knocked over most of my profiles to boot. All costing much time & the chap who was supposed to assist me was on a cruise when the job was finally ready and tents were already being erected for the festival.
Specs said it had to be within 6mm of level & 15 mm within square. Easy peasy: I thought. The power pole was "Beside the site"; ha ha, but luckily I took a 50 m leed with me "just in case" as it was a 2.5 or 3 hr drive to the site. After redoing profiles, "WE" got within 2 mm of level and 6mm of square after cutting most of the plates off one or 2 sides & welding on the opposite side(s) only because I found a builder who wasn't using his laser level on another job within the large tent city property.
Crazy that the 2 delivery truck drivers who also were qualified builders and had to settle the halves on the structure reckoned it was the best they had delivered to."go figure".

**VinnieL** · Mar 25, 2019, 09:10 PM

Wow, I cringe thinking about a fire and firefighting using water on that stuff.

**Beserkleyboy** · Mar 26, 2019, 12:31 AM

Vinnie,
Not sure I understand your concerns? Thanks
Jim in Sth Coast AUS

**hemmjo** · Mar 26, 2019, 06:17 AM

Originally Posted by VinnieL

Wow, I cringe thinking about a fire and firefighting using water on that stuff.

I used LVL and TJI for all floor and roof framing as well as headers over large windows my home back in the late 80's, Moved in Christmas of 1990.
TJI= engineered I-beams with LVL top and bottom chords with plywood web, like this, https://parr.com/PDFs/TJ-4000_ijoist_guide.pdf .Got mine before they switched to OSB for the web.

I have had remnants of those materials sitting outside, unprotected, for 25 years in Ohio weather. The wood has obviously been greatly degraded over the years, but there is no sign of delamination due to glue line failure.

The water from a fire is not a problem with LVL.

I have talked with some firefighters who do say they do not like TJI for joists as fire weakens them more quickly that standard wood joists and rafters.