I was called out to investigate 14 I-joists in the basement of a new house under construction. The owner complained to the builder these joists were darker with black and white spots. I arrived and it was obvious these joist were stored outside for an extended period of time bundled for shipment like in the photo below:
The following photos show these joist already in place;
Using a screwdriver I demonstrated to the home owner and the contractor on the good I-Joists I could not poke the screwdriver through the web with considerable force. Then I proceeded to poke holes in the darken joists as the contractor’s face turned white. He told the homeowner it was only a little mold and he sprayed it with a fungicide. Turns out significant dry rot fungus had developed where the flanges were touching the web when bundled. (see first photo above)
That is sad to think a builder would put them in a new home. The adhesive and the OSB have been compromised, but I am sure that you know that. It will be interesting what you come up with for a repair.
At least that one was at the end of the joist and not picking up a floor load.
Were there others like that in the floor system? Can’t imagine how a contractor would not know that this material is defective and should not have been used.
Yes, there were few others that were weathered. As well as an LVL that got wet and appeared to have some compression. This photo was not as clear so I did not post it before. I called them all out for an SE to have a go. (I know the double hanger is missing in this photo )
I can’t find the photo’s, but I did a pre-drywall on a home where all of the OSB subfloor had been saturated and then later dried. It had swollen or expanded so much it looked like someone had screwed down a sponge.
Back in my HVAC project management days, the guys were running CSST on an apartment building at the same time that the AHJ was doing an inspection. One of the guys went to knock out one of the pre-scored holes and instead of the 2" hole, it took out a chunk about the size of a softball. The AHJ told him that it must have been a fluke and to drill the holes instead. The next one he was able to push the 2" hole saw bit through the I-joist without turning on the drill. The AHJ then told the general to hurry up and get that section drywalled. That took place a couple of days later. A phone call was made to the investor and the sup and AHJ were both fired.
The fix was what Marcel noted. Boxed in with glue and nails.
Update, in doing some research there is no repair method I could do that would restore the water damage I-Joists due to the unknown amount of reduction in tension, compression and shear strength caused by the dry rot. In order to repair an I-Joist you typically attach lumber, plywood or OSB with nails and/or glue. The published capacity for shear strength of nailed or glued connections is based on tests performed on good lumber and plywood. There are no published properties for nailed or glued connections on water damaged wood. Repair plans published by I-Joist manufacturers is limited to localized damage in a good I-joist, where the engineering properties of the joists are still known. If you have a 2x10 joist or an I-Joist with significant water damage then replacement is your best option.
Good information. Personally I was wondering if they could somehow install more I-joists to carry the load, problem is if electrical, plumbing and mechanicals had been completed this could be an expensive fix, yet it very well may be the cheapest.
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