Lightweight, lightweight? This from Fire Gezzer

Hope you have heard of and are aware of lightweight construction, here they are going even lighter. The fire service needs to push the issue of lightweight construction material safety. When used this material should be protected by covering with drywall and or the manufacturing process needs to be examined to include making this stuff fire resistive. (Without making more toxic products of combustion) On their web site these manufactures have done fire exposure test. Stay Safe

They’re Not Burning Fast Enough !

THERE HAVE BEEN TOO MANY FIREFIGHTER DEATHS AND INJURIES in the past few years due to the rapid interior collapse of newer homes built with “lightweight construction” methods.  This problem may be lessened soon with the introduction of Georgia-Pacific’s new wood-chips-and-glue XJ 85 I-Joist.

This remarkable product has several large holes already cut through the woody-type floor joists that are designed to make for faster and easier installation of heating ducts, electric conduits, etc.

With this innovation being brought into the housing construction trade, newer houses that have fires will now be falling in before the first-due engine even gets there.

It’s what the Yuppies call a Win-Win.  The FD wins because we’re not there yet when the roof meets the basement and the home builders win because rebuilding costs are increased.  As for the poor sap whose house burns down ….. well, that’s what insurance is for, isn’t it?

Presumably, the cost savings from using this method would be enough to pay for installing a home sprinkler system.  But don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen.  Especially in Minnesota.

You can learn more about this wonderful new product HERE.

Thanks to Firegeezer reader Troy N. who brought this to our attention.

Find your ductwork's happy place. Run it in conditioned space. The XJ 85® I-joist from Georgia-Pacific is an innovative engineering achievement, combining radical hole shaping and placement with the stiffness and quality you expect from Georgia-Pacific Wood Products. The strategically located pre-cut openings allow ductwork to be run in conditioned spaces, out of extreme attic temperatures. This helps lower heating and cooling loads, and helps increase energy efficiency. Plus, the lightweight construction and wider on-center spacing of the XJ 85 joists contribute to lower installed cost.

Here's the Georgia Pacific website:
http://www.gp.com/build/product.aspx?pid=6383