Basic Floor Joist Layout

Draw up a basic floor framing plan.

Basic floor joist layout.

Some newer homes have manufactured i beam shaped joists. In simple terms the base case would be both stronger and cheaper. Subflooring is usually plywood. Joists are the horizontal members of the floor.

Before you begin cutting or measuring grab a pencil and paper and sketch an outline of your floor. Your sketch should depict the floor s basic shape and layout complete with any additional features like alcoves nooks and staircases. For larger structures like floors roofs or decks try a fink truss design which has internal joists arranged in a w shape for extra support. Used to combat shear forces provides safe work environment and provides nail able surface for the finish floor.

With either i joists or floor trusses the joist must be designed by an engineering technologist based on the joist s span its dead load capacity depth thickness and in the case of. Don t worry you won t need to do a lot of calculations in determining the size and placement of the structural framing within your house design. Like studs spaced out at equal distances. Floor joists are typically 2 by 8s 2 by 10s or 2 by 12s.

They wrap around the joists. If we then compare that 2x8 layout with our base case 2x10s at 24 inch centers we find that although the smaller joists are cheaper we would need more of them because of the tighter spacing so the material cost would increase 17 and labor would be 44 higher. If you re trying to reinforce a shed or gable roof use a simple king post truss design which has a single vertical joist running through the center of the triangular frame. Using floor joist span tables.

Sits on top of sill plate. Today i started laying the floor joists for our new house. Header band joists connect the joists together. A floor s framework is made up mostly of wooden joists that run parallel to one another at regular intervals.

With lumber joists this is a fairly simple process as a contractor can simply look up the span tables included in the local building codes and go from there. Extremely long spans staircases or interior walls typically require additional support which can complicate your framing.