Jacksonville builders love stick framing.
ICF and block construction make a few appearances, but wood framing dominates the area.
So builders need to be asking themselves, “Why am I leaving money on the table with my framing package?”
Jeff Arneson, Apex Technology, spoke at the E-Council luncheon about implementing advanced framing. Apex Technology has served the residential structural engineering and mechanical design needs of Jacksonville for nearly 20 years. The company’s experience goes beyond our warm climate zone and extends up through the mid-Atlantic region.
In his experience, Jeff has found many builders do not include advanced framing techniques in their specifications. Any advanced framing then implemented on the job site results in a framing subcontractor being able to reduce material costs by reducing waste and effectively reaping a financial benefit.
Apex Technology has the experience to assist builders improve their structural specifications and maintain code compliance, but few builders have expressed an interest in doing so.
The benefits of advanced framing go beyond simply lowering builder cost. Advanced framing also allows a builder to deliver a more energy-efficient product to customers. Simply put, reducing the amount of wood framing in a wall cavity creates more room for insulation. This is beneficial in reducing the amount of heat transfer that would otherwise be conducting through the additional wood in the walls.
Arneson described several features of what he calls “the perfect wall” suitable for many homes in Jacksonville. Some features include simple techniques that reduce waste including ladder framing at intersecting walls, cripple blocks instead of full cripples and headers and sills, three-stud corners (California corners), and omitting blocking midway up the wall.
When dealing with load-bearing headers, Arneson is a proponent of wood structural panels, which are a box-frame style header that allows for insulation to be included in the header area. Increased R-value is achieved from the insulated WSP compared to a solid wood style header. This is a win-win once again for energy efficiency and lower material cost.
Obviously, there are many moving parts for any construction project. Arneson was quick to acknowledge the difficulty in communicating changes to long-standing building practices. He feels advanced framing should be renamed “smart framing” and the “advanced” title should be applied to the communication portion.
Builders working through that process require assistance. His solution is simple: Apex Technology is available to those builders interested in lowering costs, delivering a better product and implementing code-compliant changes in their building practices.
Please visit ecounciljax.org to keep up to date on quarterly training sessions coming in 2015 as well as other new and exciting initiatives.
Happy holidays from the E-Council!