Open Joist: Save Time & Money on Your Next Project With Open Joist

When choosing floor framing products, builders are looking for high-quality floor trusses that reduce installation time and bear a heavy load. That’s why The Picket Fence project team chose engineered floor joist Open Joist. The product’s lightweight trimmable floor joists come with a transferable Lifetime Warranty and work particularly well for The Picket Fence’s modular factory design.

“Open Joist provides many benefits for modular and site-built construction, especially with improved technologies of HVAC and the ease of installation with our unique open web design,” says Brian Ellenberger, CEO/Owner of Allegheny Structural Components, Inc., Open Joist’s U.S. manufacturer.  “It’s lighter and stronger, plus Open Joist has been certified for equivalent fire-resistant construction to dimension lumber, so there’s no need to drywall the ceiling of a basement.”

FLOOR TRUSS INNOVATION

Open Joist is an engineered, all-wood, open web joist with superior strength and load-carrying capabilities that make it ideal for longer joist spans or wider joist spacing. Long-span capabilities can eliminate the need for intermediate bearings and thus reduce framing costs. Wider on-center spacing capabilities mean fewer joists, which speeds up framing and reduces costs. And unlike other engineered joists, Open Joist meets the criteria to qualify for an exception in the Fire Protection of Floors in the International Residential Code (IRC).

OPEN-WEB CONFIGURATION FOR EASY MECHANICAL SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

Open Joist’s open-web configuration provides plenty of room to accept plumbing, electrical, and HVAC ductwork. Mechanical systems are installed within the floor's framing rather than hanging below, which can eliminate the added expenses of an extra-deep foundation. It is the only floor framing product subjected to individual joist testing at 2.1 times its design load. It works well in tandem with the Rheia HVAC system, a small-diameter duct system that is located entirely in The Picket Fence’s conditioned spaces, routing the ductwork through Open Joist’s open web design.

It also saves time and reduces labor by eliminating the need for drilling or cutting holes in solid joists.

TRIMMABLE TRUSSES

Known in the industry as the original "trimmable floor joist,” Open Joist features trimmable trusses that allow for cutting the exact length dimensions needed for framing. Trimmable trusses make field adjustments easy, so you can compensate for unexpected situations such as dimension changes or out-of-square foundations.

FAST, RELIABLE DELIVERY

Allegheny Structural Components, Inc. is the exclusive manufacturer for Open Joist in the United States. Allegheny Structural Components markets its products through a network of distributors throughout the continental U.S. The company maintains an adequate inventory of Open Joists on-site, and because Open Joist is a "stock" product that can be trimmed to fit on the job site, this allows for a quick delivery turn-around in a matter of days.

KIND TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Open Joist is manufactured from a renewable resource of high-quality, fast-growing, "mature-growth" trees from managed forestland. Its manufacturing process consumes significantly less energy than steel plate manufacturing processes and uses only the amount of wood fiber required by the structure of the truss. This allows builders to do more with less.