Finger-Jointed Studs Becoming More Widely Used
MikeTXMS
| Posted in General Questions on
Hi, y’all.
Last few weeks when I walk around different communities in my city, I see that new construction have strange lumbers. I didn’t see situation like this few months ago. Sometimes up to 40% of new homes(from the middle price segment) have something like reusable materials or strange parts(finger-jointed studs). I saw homes that use all lumbers like in my video.
Typical example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6eu7cCI1pk
May I ask you is it general approach around USA or something strange is going on with our builders?
Thank you
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Replies
Mike,
For about a decade and a half starting in the early '90s builds here all used finger-jointed studs. Although you paid a slight premium, they were straighter and dryer. Their disappearance from local lumberyards had more to do with mill closures and supply than any quality issues. I've no idea why they have started popping up where you are, but I wouldn't worry about it much.
Thank you, Malcolm.
Even when all lumbers in the construction are like this?
Mike,
I don't think they are rated for horizontal use, so no plates or overhangs. For a while I saw the odd project with finger-jointed joists, but they are different animal altogether.
There is a nationwide lumber shortage which I imagine is disrupting supply chains.
Seems. you're right. Crazy time
The lumber shortage is an interesting situation.. Not much talk on GBA about it I've noticed, but It's a topic online getting plenty of attention.
I'm amazed to find an $8 sheet of OSB going for $24. Where is the humanity?
James,
Consider yourself lucky. 7/16" OSB was $43 CDN at my lumberyard a couple of weeks ago!
Gone are the days you cut a sheet up and threw it in the mud as a walkway.
The finger jointed studs are supposed to be a premium item as Malcolm mentioned. It may be that's what your builders could get. It's likely that those studs can be assembled from smaller pieces of wood, so it may be easier for the mills to make those than full-length studs sometimes. They shouldn't be a problem on your project, they tend to be straighter and less likely to warp.
Bill