Plywood Floor Sheathing, staggered end joints.

[mijowe]

Most APA documents and some manufacturers indicate that end joints should be staggered when installing floor sheathing. The one exception that I can find is in the floor diaphragm capacity charts where they list six layout patterns including several with the end joints aligned. Is the staggered joint just a good practice recommendation and not a code requirement?

 

[skeletron]

Good practice recommendation: yes. Most framers will run sheathing wild. Potentially stronger and less waste, although continuous joints maybe mean that there is less cutting.

Code requirement: no. As far as I can tell (CSA O86, which has adopted the AWC layouts) you still can design for continuous joints but it will affect the J factor for unblocked diaphragms.

 

[mijowe]

Thanks, we are working with a prefab floor panel system so we don't get the stagger.