Design Centre – FAQ’s

Your Dindas EWP designer will carefully review the information you provided for the project. Your project requirements will determine how we approach setting out your design. If minimal details are supplied, we will design to the applicable Australian Standards.

TIP: For the most economical and performance-guaranteed design solution, the more information, the better.

That is a great question, and we are glad you asked!
The minimum requirements for submitting a design request to your local Dindas Australia office are;

1. Quality architectural plans. These must include the following and can be supplied as (PDF, DWG, DXF) document types;
   • Clear and concise dimensions across the entire drawing set
   • Site plan
   • Floor plan(s) – all floors to be separate if multi-storey
   • Bracing plans – including nominated Wind Speed
   • Elevations – all
   • Cross-sections – minimum (2) and must include;
     • Roof pitch
     • Eaves Overhang
     • Overall wall heights
     • Exterior building materials
     • Interior building materials
   • Construction details
   • Project details – Usually found in the title block
     • Builders Trading Name
     • Physical delivery address (Site Address)
     • Architects business details
     • Date and revision # of plans
2. Engineering plans.
   • When you submit your plans and include engineering drawings, you must also advise us if you would like us to follow these as drawn OR work with your engineer to provide an alternative design option.
   • We will follow your submitted engineering drawings if you do not advise a preference.
   • NOTE: If the engineer’s plans are provided after the initial design estimate and before the order is placed, we will have to review and provide a revision for the design, which may affect the original design cost.
3. Steel Supporting Members.
   • Should your project engineering plans include steel, you will need to advise us to;
     • Follow as per engineering size and construction details
     • Consider conversion to a timber member where possible
4. Design Criteria – Deflection.
   • As per AS1684 – These criteria vary depending on the element being designed.
   • Performance-enhanced alternative – preferred deflection limits lower than that of the AS1684. You will need to specify clearly.
5. Floor Step-downs
   • If you require a recess or step-down to any part of your floor system, you must provide clearly defined areas on the plans, including step-down dimensions. Refer to the Technical Library for standard step-down options.
6. Member Spacings.
   • Please advise if you have a preference for your floor joist spacing. If the architectural or engineering plans do not clearly indicate a choice, we will design at the most economical spacing. This may include 480 mm or 600mm, changing the Minimum flooring thickness to 22mm.
7. Ancillary Items.
   • We have an extensive range of quality ancillary items to include in the complete Dindas Framing Solution. When submitting your project details, please indicate what you want us to have. If you are unsure, advise us to ‘Include all ancillaries’, and we will include everything you need for your project.
8. Special Design Considerations.
   • If your project includes Outdoor Spas, BAL (fire) rating, specific cladding or flooring products, or any unusual loads.

WS – or ‘Web Stiffeners’ are required for that particular connection. From time to time, you will see these appear, and they must be installed according to the web stiffener installation guidelines and details provided on your Dindas Framing Plan. Typical areas where you will see Web Stiffener requirements are:

• Under a heavy load or point load at the end of the joist
• At the end of a joist where the face-mount hanger does NOT match the exact height of the I-Joist
  • The web stiffeners help provide lateral restraint for the shorter hanger.
• At the end of the joist in full-depth face-mount hanger where uplift restraint is required.
  • In this connection, nailing into the Supporting AND Supported members are required.
• Under a perpendicular load-bearing wall from above
• For birdsmouth cuts on rafter joists

All project or single-member designs that a Dindas EWP Designer completes are completed through various certified timber design software programs. We have the applicable certification reporting requirements depending on your State and Territory regulations.

The design certificates and corresponding details are ONLY available for projects ordered and supplied (in full) per the terms and conditions.
As always, our designs are not a substitute for your full engineer project details but must be read with them.

We certainly do.

These are available on the front page of every estimate and must be read and accepted before placing your order.

We are glad you asked before drilling/cutting your hole.
The EWP Section of AS1684.2.2010 covers holes through LVL (Fig:4.1). Our LVL manufacturers have reviewed and accepted these details.
Please download our handy one-page guide (as per As1684.2.2010) here

TIP: To ensure you can locate and drill the hole you require, we encourage you to contact your local Dindas Design office for a design check. This way, we can ensure all the design considerations are confirmed.

Great question,
Utilising our ‘state of the art’ DDS software, our EWP designers have provided step-down or recessed areas for several years. Depending on your requirements, we either provide a standard stepdown in height using the I-Joist depths (300mm to 240mm), or we can provide alternate custom solutions that will better fit your design*

Check out the Technical Resources page – 3D Connection Library – Typical Building Details for examples

* for confirmed ordered projects only

Dindas Performance Rated Rim Board is a specially designed component designed to deliver a complete engineered wood solution with your floor framing members. With high strength, dimensional stability, and structural reliability, Rim Boards perfectly match the depth of our structural Dindas I-joists and offer highly predictable performance and consistent quality. Dindas Performance Rated Rim Board may be manufactured from 17mm structural plywood and is available in 2.4m lengths.

During installation, your Rim board length may occasionally finish within the joist spacing. Not to worry! Refer to our splicing detail – Detail 1B4, which can be found in the Technical Resource Library here.