In article ,
Hugo Nebula wrote:
On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 08:42:28 +0000 (UTC), a particular chimpanzee
named (Niel A. Farrow) randomly hit the
keyboard and produced:

New joists can be placed on existing wall plate or hung from wall plate
- I'm using the new composite I beam wooden joists - go to Travis Perkins
etc and they design and quote for you - all accepted by the Building
Control Officer - also lightweight and straight so can be handeled by one
person.

Bear in mind that these type of joists have their limitations; looking
at the literature
(http://www.apa-europe.org/Languages/...sts/A725UK.pdf), the
minimum depth is over 240mm, which causes problems in loft conversions
where headroom is usually at a premium. AIUI they can't be chamfered
nor can they can't be simply supported by resting on a wallplate, they
have to be either hung from proprietary joist hangers, built-in or
noggined. Both of which situations are more likely to arise in loft
conversions where the joists have to be inserted between the existing
ceiling joists on top of the existing wallplate under the existing
roofing felt.

Mine will be 9" deep so hanging from the 3" wall plate I loose 6" height
from the rooms below (ceilings are dropping, lath and plaster needs to
come down anyway). However, they will be flush with the wall plate so that
when I remove the old ceiling joists I gain 3". These joists are also
straight, don't warp, can be set at 600mm centres, have knock outs for
cables and pipes, and come in lengths up to 45 feet?. Being much lighter
than solid wood they can be handled by one person. To get them you
take in your rough plans which are sent out to the firm that supplies
them (Travis Perkins do it in house) who design the floor and produce a
laminated plan which is accepted by Building Control. They are more
expensive but they do have many advantages.
Neil