I-joists used at women’s refuge

Boise BCI-joists used as roof rafters at the refuge

I-joists used at women’s refuge

Published: 04 December, 2009

I-joists from Boise Cascade have been used throughout the construction of a women’s refuge in the Republic of Ireland.

The Drogheda Women’s Refuge, designed by Collins Maher Martin Architects and built by Manley Construction Ltd, features a total floor area of 330m² over two storeys.

Another 130 linear metres of BCI-joists were employed as roof rafters, each spanning seven metres.

“Whilst we regularly use Boise I-joists for the floors in our timber frame buildings and to construct flat roofs, in this instance we employed them for the shallow pitched roof structure to the family units because it was being designed as a cut roof and the BCI-joists offered the ideal combination of high strength and low weight,” said Manley Construction timber frame engineer Nisha Sheik Jahangir.

The walls are timber frame, with the building containing a communal area, six bedrooms and six family units.

The project was completed and handed over in November.