Custom timber-frame builder Tedd Benson's firm developed a flexible building concept utilizing a unique flooring system, manufactured in its facility, that creates a wide-open space beneath it to allow easy installation, reconfiguration, and addition to mechanical systems. An integral part of the flooring system is Huber Engineered Woods'1 1/8-inch-thick AdvanTech flooring and sheathing panel.

“It's a very strong, weather-resistant product, and allows us to span the distance between the steel struts in our system so that the floor is very stiff,” Benson says. Each 4-foot-by-8-foot panel weighs about 120 pounds and has to be lifted by hoist. “The AdvanTech panels, with their greater span capacity, really help to make the whole system possible.”

The AdvanTech panel's thickness eliminates the need for intermediate framing to support ducting and piping, Benson says. “It ends up saving us materials costs, and it makes it easier for local mechanical tradespeople to install their products.”

Huber Engineered Woods. 800.933.9220.www.huberwood.com. Circle 186.

Huber Engineered Woods