Floor joist specifications

[hamjam]

Are Floor joists (Pryda Longreach) specified for Particle Board flooring (yellow tongue) different to those specified for Strip (T&G) flooring?

We are currently going through court (VCAT) with our builder over a whole catalogue of defects during the construction of a 2 storey extension on the back of a Victorian terrace.
One of the many defects is that the builder has installed Pryda Longreach floor joists which are specified for a particle board floor. However we have strip flooring which extends from the original part of the house and is nailed directly to the joists.

The initial problem this caused was for the internal walls which sit parallel to, but between the floor joists. A perticle board floor would have have supported them and additional joists would have been supplied if strip flooring had been specified. As it was the builder made up some noggins to support the internal walls – without any engineering input.

The next issue this caused was when laying the strip flooring there was nothing to nail the boards to where they butted up against these internal walls. This was rectified by installing extra packing timber.

The main issue we now face is that the floors are extremely bouncy to walk on. The flooring is 22mm messmate glued / secret nailed / top nailed.

The top and bottom chords were supposed to be 45 x 90 in the plans but are actually (approx) 35 x 75 (?) although this was not picked up by the Building Surveyor when the framing was signed off and we continued building.

So are the actual joists supplied for strip flooring more solid than for particle board? Is the structural strength of the particle board factored into the joist design?

Thanks
HJ

[echnidna]

Ask Pryda

[silentC]

Yep. If you're going to court, I'd suggest the best place to get advice is straight from the horse's mouth, rather than from an anonymous forum. We all might be as shonky as your builder for all you know!

[Bleedin Thumb]

We all might be as shonky as your builder for all you know!

Not me, but I wouldn't trust any of the others!

As far as I know the spacings are different for yellow tongue Vs strip. Check you spacings.

[thebuildingsurv]

You probably want to speak the the company who supplied the floor trusses. I am have never heard of different specs for t&g, however again it is the job of the designer (the company who supply and make them) to correctly design them.

A joist is better under the wall however blocking between the nogging method i dont believe would cause significant bounce. Check with pryda re this method, an extra joist should have been supplied by the floor truss company and shown on the layout if this is not an acceptable method.

The plans might have shown 90mm but generally it will be the company that supplies them who decides whther 70mm or 90mm is whats required, the building surveyor will get a layout and go off that.

You could try and take the builder to task over changing the plans without a variation of the contract, but i dont think you will get far.

These floors are always bouncy and a lot of people complain about them, I am suprised the builder did not put down particleboard first purely for oh&s reasons during construction.

Go to the pryda website and have a look at the installation manual dont know if it covers your queries though.

Who did your building permit out of interest ?