How durable are silent floor joists really? I find it hard to believe that a joist made of half inch particle board will hold up over the years. What happens if you have a flood, it would destroy the particle board and you'd have to rip up your entire sub-floor and replace all of the joists.

What other modern building products do you have doubts about and why? I prefer the tried and true traditional building materials. I don't like these alternatives like composite materials.

I have never heard of any problems with TJI's and water damage. It isn't particle board per se but oriented strand board... I think the glue is a bit of protection against water damage. I prefer lumber as well, but most people use engineered products these days.

I think that there are building materials on the market that are inferior such as laminate floors compared to real 3/4" hardwood flooring. But, there is clearly a market for a laminate floor that looks like hardwood... people obviously like it and substitute it for real hardwood. It is also better in some situations because you don't always want to sand in place for some clients who need a dust free environment.

Anyway, I have nothing against new building products but I do prefer the traditional when money isn't too tight.

I think it would have to be a heck of a flood to damage the TJI's... but hey, I know what you mean. I just don't think it's as bad as you might imagine. I have heard of municipalities not allowing TJI's because of fire.... fire fighters don't approve of them because of the risk of concealed fires.