Pntyrmvr
Well-known member
Or floor joists for those with 7' spans to consider.
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Finger joint 2x4 wall studs.
- Thread starter iSpark
- Start date
rjacobs
Well-known member
Almost all the walls in my house are built with fingerjoint 2x4. This was built last year, prior to Covid causing any shortages.
When I saw them I not only asked the builder but I asked a few home builder guys I know including one who was a framer for like 30 years. None had any qualms about using them in the walls, but said watch out for elsewhere because, as has already be stated, the load can only be vertical on them. All of our walls are 10'+ and the builder said you basically cant get regular 2x4's in 10' lengths so finger joint is almost the only option without going to the laminate stuff(at 3-4x the cost) or 2x6(at 2x the cost). He also said they are all 99% straight where with regular lumber there were A LOT of culls or tying to pull or bend **** into place.
Only been in the house a year, but so far I have seen zero drywall cracks due to settling or shifting or what not. Ill let you know in 30 years if the house has fallen down.
I bet way more homes than you(or anybody else) knows are built with finger joint lumber.
When I saw them I not only asked the builder but I asked a few home builder guys I know including one who was a framer for like 30 years. None had any qualms about using them in the walls, but said watch out for elsewhere because, as has already be stated, the load can only be vertical on them. All of our walls are 10'+ and the builder said you basically cant get regular 2x4's in 10' lengths so finger joint is almost the only option without going to the laminate stuff(at 3-4x the cost) or 2x6(at 2x the cost). He also said they are all 99% straight where with regular lumber there were A LOT of culls or tying to pull or bend **** into place.
Only been in the house a year, but so far I have seen zero drywall cracks due to settling or shifting or what not. Ill let you know in 30 years if the house has fallen down.
I bet way more homes than you(or anybody else) knows are built with finger joint lumber.
Looks like you have your answer. Vertical (compression) loads only. No rafters or headers would be my interpretation.
The wall they were going to be used for would have been carrying the full weight of a 2x10 floor joist and rim joist with 3/4" advantech subfloor specifically for storage. I just didn't feel good about the FJ 2x4 being used for that purpose.
They may have been fine that purpose, although, I will never know because they were swapped out for normal 2x4's today.
jkeyser14
Well-known member
Finger joints are common in most construction lumber I have seen in the past 5 years. My buddy's pole barn is made with finger jointed columns. The engineered floor joists in my house have finger jointed flanges. Fire departments have even tested and proven that the glue line in the joints holds longer than the surrounding wood in a fire (that wasn't the case with glues used decades ago).
Augus7us
Well-known member
Always learning something hear on the Journal. Never heard of finger jointed wood before.
As someone else mentioned, did they order any standard studs to your site at all? Per all this documentation being posted here these are not suitable for top plates. I would not want two types of 2x lumber on my site, knowing I had to rely on some joker carpenter not to use them in the wrong places.
Good luck with the build, sounds like you got a handle on this.
As someone else mentioned, did they order any standard studs to your site at all? Per all this documentation being posted here these are not suitable for top plates. I would not want two types of 2x lumber on my site, knowing I had to rely on some joker carpenter not to use them in the wrong places.
Good luck with the build, sounds like you got a handle on this.
Always learning something hear on the Journal. Never heard of finger jointed wood before.
As someone else mentioned, did they order any standard studs to your site at all? Per all this documentation being posted here these are not suitable for top plates. I would not want two types of 2x lumber on my site, knowing I had to rely on some joker carpenter not to use them in the wrong places.
Good luck with the build, sounds like you got a handle on this.
Thanks!
Yeah, the FJ 2x4's was the only lumber that was finger joint, the rest were solid yellow pine 2x6's and up, well the sole plate was solid 2x4 pressure treated, so that was good. lol
What's funny about this is when the guy was unloading them off the truck, I was thinking to myself, damn those are some nice 2x4's! no edge bark or knot holes falling out of the stud.
Little did I realize it was scrap wood in disguise!
I wonder if I can get credit by sending my build scraps back. hahah
Little did I realize it was scrap wood in disguise!
I wonder if I can get credit by sending my build scraps back. hahah