Wesbeam is proud to partner with North Metropolitan TAFE (NMTAFE) in Western Australia, helping carpenters of the future learn new skills in timber framing.
Lightweight timber framing is well understood on the east coast of Australia, with more and more builders in WA now seeing the construction benefits in time, money and aesthetics for their clients.
NMTAFE offers a Certificate III in Carpentry and Joinery (CPC32011) which is suitable for an Australian building apprenticeship pathway, qualifying employees to work on both residential and commercial construction sites. They also qualify for more advanced building and construction courses and for further training towards their builder’s licence.
Some of the knowledge and experience they gain includes constructing wall and floor framing systems, trusses, eaves and roofs, and the use of static machines to manufacture joinery components.
Wesbeam assists with the supply of material for consumption for NMTAFE so the future generation has a hands-on approach to using their engineered wood products (LVL). Products supplied include e-beam LVL along with e-joist to produce a sub-floor system with an access to a second storey via a stairwell.
This has allowed NMTAFE students to construct a large-scale group exercise to recreate current worksite practices with larger beams allowing for the design of wider spans in layouts. A time-lapse video below shows how quickly an e-joist sub-floor can be constructed in one day with students who are learning. A trained carpenter and their partner can install a similar floor in half a day.
NMTAFE’s Carpentry & Joinery Lecturer Brendan Kelly says, “The ability for TAFE to demonstrate large-scale projects gives our apprentices genuine practical experience to take back to their worksites. We feel that keeping up with current developments in new timber technologies can only improve the awareness of the next generation of carpenters and builders.”
Wesbeam products like e-joist use the latest engineered wood technology with LVL to create a floor joist that's lightweight, straight, strong and available in lengths up 13.2m. Manufactured from LVL and oriented strand board (OSB), e-joist has a similar strength as a solid LVL beam of the same size but uses much less wood, making it lighter and easier to handle. Service holes can easily be cut through the 9.5mm OSB web with the assistance of the e-joist design guide.
“Using sustainable materials is important to consider and with timber a 100% renewable resource, it’s underpinning the appetite for sustainable housing with a low energy footprint,” said Brendan.
“The benefits of Wesbeam LVL products assists with creating larger open spans in our homes and being a lightweight and more versatile product, is far easier for carpenters to handle and manoeuvre around a worksite and roof space.
“Australia finds itself behind our peers around the world when it comes to our standard specifications and building energy performance. Lightweight timber structures could well be the future for us in such a warm climate. They store energy and do not transfer heat into our homes.
“Wesbeam’s willingness to take our flooring project from concept through to production has paved the way for its introduction to a generation of carpentry apprentices. Unwavering support and continuing involvement have been the hallmark of a local company supporting local training,” said Brendan.
Tim Mapstone, Wesbeam State Manager WA states, “It’s a privilege to work with North Metro TAFE and continue to forge a relationship which further supports the industries feedback here in WA who are more ready to embrace buildings that are a lighter, more cost effective and a more sustainable way of living.”
More information on Wesbeam e-joist can be found here. For further information on North Metro TAFE, please click here.