Irc 501.3 (I-Joists To Be Sheetrocked)


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Hello All,

I live in MA and last July 1st the new IRC I-joist regulation came into effect here. For those of you who don't live in a state with the IRC code or one that doesn't enforce this particular paragraph the change basically requires joists over a basement area that are not nominal 2x's need to be either sheetrocked / boarded over, sprinkled or use Rocksul insulation. All 3 methods are a royal PITA!

I work for a builder that builds about 40-50 houses a year. They have just decided to switch the 1st floor back to 2 x 10's and deal with the shrinkage in warranty. There is just too much of a difference now in price.....

I haven't seen anyone else mention it so it must be limited in how many designers this has affected?

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I think we are getting to the point where ALL designers/contractors and homeowners need to push back on this out of control government.

There is no end to what they feel needs to be done to "save lives" because in their attempt to save lives they are killing us!

How did we all manage to survive to our 50's,60's,70's etc. without their putting their noses into every gosh darn thing that we do.

Are we men or sheeple??

My .02 for the end of the weak!  pun intended.....

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Thanks for the heads -up. It is also in the California code. I don't think anyone is enforcing it here yet.  I think the reason is that an I-joists will burn through quicker than  a normal 2x floor joists. They will have to make the I-joists plywood thicker to qualify.

 

Now, it's  2 x floor joists for me unless it's going to be sprinkled.

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I think we are getting to the point where ALL designers/contractors and homeowners need to push back on this out of control government.

There is no end to what they feel needs to be done to "save lives" because in their attempt to save lives they are killing us!

How did we all manage to survive to our 50's,60's,70's etc. without their putting their noses into every gosh darn thing that we do.

Are we men or sheeple??

My .02 for the end of the weak! pun intended.....

Totally agree. I've tried to start "pushing back" wherever I reasonably can myself. It's not that all the ideas are bad, it's that they're forced, and the slow casual loss of our freedoms is sad to see. It's one little thing and a time, easy to lose one, much harder to get one back.

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Blah, blah, blah until it's your kid or mother's life that's been saved.

What if a person would prefer to spend those extra time and resources on something else...maybe even where THEY feel (or know) that it could be better spent on some other "safety" related aspect of their own lives. Should Bryce always need to be consulted?

I'm not so naive to think all regulation is bad, I think the conflicting opinions from all sides can reach a good balance and that the "push back" is a necessity in the process. There's a reason our founders designed a sloppy form of

government and made it hard to get anything done. Overreaching and overbearing regulation is I believe at the top of the list. We can and absolutely SHOULD do what we can within our own sphere of influence to effect change (or lack thereof). I believe we have become overly sedate as a people and gave up trying to effect change and its resulted in government that simply does what it wants regardless of what the majority of people want (OSHA and EPA regulations are prime examples that come immediately to mind).

Anyway, I don't want to get into a big political argument. Just wanted to clarify my stance a bit.

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Hello All,I live in MA and last July 1st the new IRC I-joist regulation came into effect here. For those of you who don't live in a state with the IRC code or one that doesn't enforce this particular paragraph the change basically requires joists over a basement area that are not nominal 2x's need to be either sheetrocked / boarded over, sprinkled or use Rocksul insulation. All 3 methods are a royal PITA!I work for a builder that builds about 40-50 houses a year. They have just decided to switch the 1st floor back to 2 x 10's and deal with the shrinkage in warranty. There is just too much of a difference now in price.....I haven't seen anyone else mention it so it must be limited in how many designers this has affected?

Definitely a pain. Especially it it's an unfinished basement slated to be finished later on down the road.

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Blah, Blah, Blah yourself.  Should we create a world where EVERYTHING is regulated and nobody ever gets hurt?  I don't think so.

There is always going to be situations where you can say BUT IF THIS were done that would not have happened.  There is no end to it.

How about all masonry houses?  Oh wait , that is where we started, in caves!.....

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 One would hope nobody is taking 10 hay bales into their basement and setting fire to them , and even if they did the smoke alarms would be going crazy, around here there aren't any unfinished basements , people always need the space , so this is one I am unlikely to ever run into ,seems like another case of allowing for that 1 in a Million chance. 

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 One would hope nobody is taking 10 hay bales into their basement and setting fire to them , and even if they did the smoke alarms would be going crazy, around here there aren't any unfinished basements , people always need the space , so this is one I am unlikely to ever run into ,seems like another case of allowing for that 1 in a Million chance. 

Wouldn't you run into this all the time on the 2nd floor?

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Blah, blah, blah until it's your kid or mother's life that's been saved.

Bryce, shouldn't they go after the causes of the fire first and not this? Using this logic car manufactures should make their cars much safer to protect us from the distracted and drunk drivers? Where do they stop?

I know there is at least one firefighter here on the forum so perhaps they can chime in. In MA the firefighters have an unbelievable amount of power. I understand it is a national code (IRC) but here they've been pushing for sprinklers in residential for decades and they're another step closer. I would be shocked if sprinklers for residential weren't on the books by 2020 here in MA.

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Jay - most places around here want sprinkler systems in new construction.  I am sure some people would be happy just to be able to

afford a house, period!  Pretty soon we will have the safest most energy efficient houses that most cannot afford!

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.....There is always going to be situations where you can say BUT IF THIS were done that would not have happened......

 

 

This is so true..... 

 

Hello All,

I live in MA and last July 1st the new IRC I-joist regulation came into effect here. For those of you who don't live in a state with the IRC code or one that doesn't enforce this particular paragraph the change basically requires joists over a basement area that are not nominal 2x's need to be either sheetrocked / boarded over, sprinkled or use Rocksul insulation. All 3 methods are a royal PITA!

I work for a builder that builds about 40-50 houses a year. They have just decided to switch the 1st floor back to 2 x 10's and deal with the shrinkage in warranty. There is just too much of a difference now in price.....

I haven't seen anyone else mention it so it must be limited in how many designers this has affected?

I am not sure what the big stink is here i.....  I assume you want the basement finished or you will soon,  so put 5/8" type x gyp and you are done.  To take it a step further,  here in  CA,  land of the fruits and nuts,  we have to sprinkle all new buildings.

 

I would rather use TJI's  (stronger)  and put the type x on the underside....  does not seem like a big deal,  what am I missing?

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Jay - most places around here want sprinkler systems in new construction.  I am sure some people would be happy just to be able to

afford a house, period!  Pretty soon we will have the safest most energy efficient houses that most cannot afford!

What I think is so funny is we are making our houses so air tight to be energy efficient,  we are actually having to install a fan that runs 24 hours to get some ventilation in the house.

 

Here in SOCAL,  we run the AC maybe 2 weeks out of the year and we run the heat only when my mom visits......  

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Don't they want you to 1/2" drywall the sides of the joists also.

I don't know....  if that is so,  I would understand the complaint,  but again,  we have to sprinkle all new buildings anyway.  

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What I think is so funny is we are making our houses so air tight to be energy efficient,  we are actually having to install a fan that runs 24 hours to get some ventilation in the house.

 

Here in SOCAL,  we run the AC maybe 2 weeks out of the year and we run the heat only when my mom visits......  

I have one of those fans on all the time, so quiet you don't even notice and creates a negative air pressure so every time you open a window or door air rushes in. Penny says she likes the fresh air unless its too hot out. Those days are when I can foul up the air the best.

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I don't know....  if that is so,  I would understand the complaint,  but again,  we have to sprinkle all new buildings anyway.  

I have had to sprinkle some larger additions lately

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Jay - most places around here want sprinkler systems in new construction.  I am sure some people would be happy just to be able to

afford a house, period!  Pretty soon we will have the safest most energy efficient houses that most cannot afford!

Pretty soon? How about...we're there. Nobody can afford a house. We just get indebted to buy one. Became the norm and government regulated under Roosevelt I believe.

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We have a whole house fan to export the hot interior air to the outside......  and I guarantee you my whole house fan is louder than your silent fan.  Our whole house fan sounds like I am inside one of those turbine engines on a 747 that is moments away from taking off.

 

We usually  place unwanted guests under the whole house fan and turn it on for a few moments .....  the problem clears up quickly.

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Here is an interesting video demonstrating burn rates of I joist vs solid wood:

 

Thanks Dan, I guess one can say the fireproofing is worth the trouble. I'd love to see a test with I-joists fire profed

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