Hi, I'm on a first-time self-build in Cumbria and I have am about to instruct a timber frame designer. I intend fabricating the wall and roof cassettes myself and I'm unsure whether to replace the dimensioned timber studs with i-beams. Reasons to use i-beams are (1)reduced cold bridging and (2)avoids wrangling with bent/twisted timber.
Initially, I was just going to replace the inner studs with i-beams but my TF designer says that I can replace top and bottom plates and the side plates too. He mentioned that I would have to add packer plates and that the window area would need to be boarded in ply. He didn't elaborate on fixings but I'm having trouble imagining how I'm going to nail up a cassette made entirely from i-joists. I've seen angled nail-plates in JJI brochures but this leaves me none the wiser.
I've seen that a few of you have used i-joists. Can you give me some pointers on connections please? Or should I just stick to replacing the inner studs. Thanks for your help