Building Material Substitutions

Increased renovation and new housing demand has led to a rise in lumber and wood panel pricing throughout Canada, leaving some people looking for material substitutions for their building and renovation projects. Material substitutions can be provided to the on-site Building Inspector, who will review the substitution and confirm compliance. Many substitutions can be handled by the Builder and the Inspector without the need to involve a Designer.

When looking for potential substitution materials, there are some important factors to keep in mind including:

• Items such as finger joined lumber cannot be substituted for something like a structural header unless signed off by an engineer
• Items such as residential roof sheathing cannot be reduced below 1/2”
• Components in walls that are required to be non-combustible need to remain non-combustible
• Substitutions for projects requiring sealed structural designs such as in a commercial building load-bearing walls or tall wall, would require confirmation from an engineer
• Fire rated assemblies may not permit specific substitutions depending on the design chosen, further evaluation from your designer/architect may be required
• Sound rated walls/floors may not permit a specific substitution depending on the design chosen, further evaluation by your designer/architect may be required
• If the component is part of an environmental separation in a new build, confirmation of compliance from the Energy Modeller is required if the substitution is less energy efficient.

Questions? Contact Building Standards at 306.975.2645 or email buildingstandards@saskatoon.ca.