Web stiffeners are required if the sides of the hanger do not laterally support at least 3/8” of TJI joist top flange.

In our case, each I-Joist is fully supported by each hanger… and glued to ensure a squeak-free floor.

I look forward to following your project.

Pierre

You have taken some flack along with some kudos for your ‘green’ efforts. I believe that by publicizing your decision making process and discussing the alternatives you have done a lot more for the greening of Toronto than if you had quietly put in all of the latest technologies, regardless of cost and NOT publicized your efforts.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers
John

We use a lot of Integrity windows. It’s one of the very best performing double glazed windows, and the price works for most of our clients. Loewens are more beautiful, and have a little better thermal performance, but are a significant step up in expense.

For triple glazed, Loewen has the best combination of aesthetics and performance, if the budget does not allow it we go for Canadian fiberglass triple glazed (Thermotech, etc.). Using triple glazed windows can significantly reduce your heating system size and cost, the price can be almost flat in the end if you are careful with heating distribution reduction.

As to thermal bridging, make absolutely sure you have no spots where bare steel touches uninsulated exterior sheathing. If that steel gets winter cold, moisture will condense on it inside your walls, and bad things happen. Spray foam is your friend. A good layer of foam on all exposed steel will keep water vapor from getting close.

The best examples of thermal bridge reduction is found in the Passivhaus (passivehouse) German construction system. It’s how they make their radical heating system reductions work. An exterior rigid foam blanket, even if it’s only 1-2” thick can do wonders in reducing problems at spots where interior insulation can’t fix (posts, beams, window framing).

See some additional comments here:
http://www.denver-modern.com/windows_doors/

Marvin makes very good windows – in some cases the Integrity series can take temperature swings better than metal clad, in that the material doesn’t expand/contract as much. However, from my brief research at the time they were limited in their sizing and didn’t have quite the same clean lines of Loewen or K&K.

I must admit, it’s good to hear that everyone thinks the structure is inline with what it should be. I was a little concerned at first that we overshot it, but it seems like we’re in a good place.

So, on many jobs, it might be nice to leave it at the discretion of your contractor – have your engineer give equivalents(or better yet, your contractor should be asking for them) – wood or steel in particular spots.

“Over building” can be argued ad nauseum! Just remember, that many codes are bare minimums. Small structures with big openings for glazing need a lot of rigidity and shear built into the minimal areas left over.

We strung our window guys along for a while – over time (and especially in the current economic conditions) other “options” became available for the same price. We pushed hard on price, and ended up getting triple paned doors and windows for all the large openings. For small openings, a good mid-level double pane window should be fine.

If you do an energy model for your house, you will probably find that if you use high-quality windows, they will NOT require overhangs or shading – on their own they will handle heat gain. The only thing that becomes an issue is glare – more of a visual discomfort vs. energy problem.

I agree that the clerestory will be a large source of heat loss in the winter… but there isn’t much we can do. I’m thinking we might put a fan up there, which will hopefully allow us to circulate the air a little better.

However, we are taking a few steps to reduce the heat gain in the summer:

1. The windows will actually have a “screen cladding” on the exterior. We’ll actually be shading the windows from the outside, which will essentially make it look like a large lantern (at least when it glows at night). We had originally planned for overhangs/awning to help with the shading, but I hated the way it looked… hopefully the exterior screen will help.

1. 2 windows will be electrically operable, which will allow us to open them to vent the hot air. I’m hoping a fan will help the cause as well as well.

   I’m actually placing the clerestory order today, so I’ll inquire about the quadruple glazing… I’m not sure if it’s even an option though (they hadn’t mentioned it previously).