Just got back from a job site in Nashville that had me worried

I was framing a new house out in the Berry Hill area last week and noticed the floor joists were spaced way too wide. The GC said it was fine because they used engineered lumber but the span table says 12 inches max and these were at 16. They saved maybe $200 doing it that way but I saw some bounce already when we walked across. I don't care what the engineer says on paper, that floor is gonna sag in 5 years. Has anyone else run into builders cheaping out on joist spacing like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor_flores21d ago

The whole "engineered lumber fixes everything" thing is such a cop out. I ran into this exact mess on a townhouse job a few years back where the GC swore up and down the LVLs could handle 24 inch spacing. Spoiler alert, they didn't. You could feel the bounce after drywall was up and that floor was creaking like crazy within a year. Best thing you can do is get your own span table printout and show it to them on site. If they still fight it, walk away because that job is gonna be a headache for whoever buys it.

matthewh2821d ago

@taylor_flores But isn't part of the problem bad install or cheap boards rather than the material itself?