Engineered timber floor joists are now being used in about half of all new houses, members of the London Softwood Club have heard.
Speaker James Sweet, Trus Joist European division sales manager (stuctural business), said recent National House-Building Council figures showed that 50% of new homes no longer used traditional timber joists – which he said equated to about 65,000-70,000 houses.
“When you approach a builder who is very cost-conscious it becomes a no-brainer for him to choose engineered wood products,” said Mr Sweet.
He described engineered timber as one of the fastest growing products in the industry, driven by building skills shortages, material quality, new regulations, build speed and planning issues.
Mr Sweet compared engineered timber’s quick and easy installation and predictability to the successful Smash potato product launched in the 1970s.
He said it took about four hours to install engineered joists for a four- to five-bed house, compared with one-and-a-half to two days using traditional timber joists.
“This is the way that the construction timber joist market is going,” he added.
