The joy of posi joists

When the photos arrived last week from the site, one of the things that most struck me as a building novice was our joists.

I had never seen joists like this before. To be honest, I’d never given joists much thought. Thankfully our architects had!

A few minutes research online confirmed that these were web or posi joists, and that they’ve been around for a while.

Hugely strong with a steel web reinforcing the timber struts, they enable long spans of floor to be constructed without structural reinforcement such as load bearing walls, and their open nature allows easy installation of services, like MVHR.

MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery) systems are a very effective way to reduce the heat energy used in thermally efficient homes. We will be installing MVHR and these joists enable the ducts to be run through the construction very easily.

There is also less movement in these joists than with traditional timber, meaning more solidity to floors, less creaking and better sound insulation.

The more I read about these joists the more I realise that these were a great inclusion, and yet another element of the build that I’ve been quietly impressed with.

This may look like a traditional island house from the outside once it’s clad in larch and its roof has been slated, but its bones will be made up from the latest technologies in building innovation, making this a warm, strong, energy efficient construction which I hope will benefit us for many years to come.