Changes to U.K. building regulations help boost sales of LP's I-joists; U.K. partner MBM Forest Products says solid wood alternative can accommodate mechanical ventilation systems, ducting
Wendy Lisney
LOS ANGELES
,
November 1, 2011
(Forestweb)
–
A partnership between MBM Forest Products Ltd. of Tilbury, U.K. and Nashville, Tennessee-based Louisiana-Pacific (LP) to target off-the-shelf I-joists to the small builder market is receiving a boost from new building regulations.
MBM is offering the LP 225i joists through a network of around 30 suppliers, U.K. timber industry magazine TTJ reported on Nov. 1. The joists are manufactured to U.K. specifications and are offered as an alternative to solid 8 in.x2 in. and 9 in.x2 in. timber floor joists.
Stephen Sabine said there had been some delay because of the time taken for pre-October 2010 permits to work their way through the system. But he added that builders applying for new permits were now having to think about how they would meet the new requirements.
Part L of the U.K. Building Regulations cover the structure's air permeability and heating efficiency. Sabine said revisions to Part L requirements had forced builders to look at how to accommodate mechanical ventilation systems and the associated ducting, and the LP 225i joist offered a solution.
The LP I-joists were recently supplied to a multi-unit masonry builder in Ealing, near London, for the first time.
The primary source of this article is TTJ, The Timber Industry Magazine, Sidcup, U.K., on Nov. 1, 2011.
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