Cutting and Installing I-Joist Rafters
Mike Guertin enlists the help of local trade-school students to frame a roof and is impressed with their efficient approach to the project.
It’s always the prep work that takes time. WACTC construction-trades students spent a couple hours calculating the common rafters and making templates. After they headed back to school, I cut sample rafters and tried them out on the roof. The angles were perfect, and the length just needed to be trimmed down by 1/8 in. to account for the metal hardware.
The next morning, the students set up three stations to cut the different-size rafters. First, they made I-joist cross-cutting jigs from OSB scraps and made a few practice cuts. By the end of the class (about 90 minutes), they had two-thirds of the TJI roof rafters cut and ready for installation.
I figured that on their next visit — a full day working — they’d cut the rest of the TJI rafters, install the web stiffeners, haul the rafters up to the attic, and install a few. Boy, was I surprised when they had all the TJIs installed and the hardware nailed off in just 3-1/2 hours. By the time they headed back to school, they had a few courses of roof sheathing placed on the south-facing roof.
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View Comments
Nice article.
Please FHB define your acronyms in their first use in any FHB article. We are all now inundated with acronyms in all parts of our lives. It helps to have a clue.
Also, Im seeking information comparing ijoists(or i-joists or TJI) to lumber rafters, What is the proper search term for these manufactured joists, beams or whatever they are called? Thanks