STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS 49 AN ‘I’ ON INNOVATION
Angus Macfarlane of James Jones & Sons discusses the increasing popularity of I-joists, and their inherent economic, technical and environmental benefits for addressing the current challenges the housebuilding industry faces.
housing shortage, developers are under more pressure than ever before to meet new build targets. Amidst these pressures, developers are also facing environmental challenges as the Government calls for ‘carbon neutral’ homes. The Zero Carbon Homes Agenda set a
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range of milestones that the housebuilding industry must meet. It is believed these targets, coupled with the influencing
THE INHERENT PRODUCT BENEFITS HAVE SEEN I-JOIST USAGE GROW NOT ONLY FOR ROOFS AND WALLS, BUT INCREASINGLY IN FLOORING SYSTEMS
ith the Government’s promise to build 300,000 new homes per year to address the current
factors of the housebuyer themselves has impacted on the popularity and growth of the use of timber as a prime construction material choice. A recent poll by Public First cited that when those who are consid- ering buying a new-build were asked what factors might influence their views when deciding between two different house- builders – ‘the respective companies’ environmental credentials was the third most popular answer, only behind ‘reputa- tion for quality work’ and ‘how attractive their homes are.’ The driving force behind this purchasing decision however tended to be motivated by a desire to save money on energy costs rather than wider concerns about the environment. Nonetheless, these recent government
initiatives have encouraged the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and Off-Site Manufacture (OSM) within the housebuilding industry. It’s believed this has contributed to the existing popularity of specification of the I-joist, as it lends itself well to both construction
methods, allowing faster on-site builds and can also be engineered and pre-fabri- cated in the factory. I-joists possess many technical, installation, economic and environmental benefits, often making them the specification of choice in both modern and traditional housebuilding methods. To look at the technical benefits
initially, I-joists are extremely stable, with an excellent strength-to-weight ratio, and reduce prime costs for building comple- tions. They also lend themselves well to service installation as the OSB or fibre- board can be easily drilled and can even be pre-drilled off-site. Their economic benefits are particularly
appealing to housing developers, as they can be twice as fast to install as tradi- tional methods, and can be supplied as a complete system inclusive of all ancillary items, reducing overall building costs. The well documented skilled labour shortage within the UK construction industry makes the I-joist system even more
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