Second Floor Floor Joists

1 psf lb f ft 2 47 88 n m 2.

Second floor floor joists.

Maximum floor joist span for no. 2 grade of douglas fir are indicated below. This size is no longer acceptable when framing a structure. The best way to limit annoying flex in a floor is to make sure that joists are sized correctly before a house or addition is built.

A room used solely for sleeping might need to carry only 30 psf whereas a garage floor over a basement would need 50 psf or higher. Framing for floor openings a staircase is essential for commuting between floors but it creates an opening in the second floor so you can t run the joists from one side of the house to the other without interruption. Depending upon the conditions it is possible to strengthen or repair existing framing members such as floor joists or roof rafters by adding reinforcing material sandwiching the member on either side with plywood is sometimes worthwhile but the plywood must be installed correctly for greatest strength. Thre ways to fix a sagging or sloping floor.

First floor live loads have higher requirements than second floor live loads 40 pounds per square foot vs. Live load is weight of furniture wind snow and more. When building a house or even a deck it is important to confirm you have the correct joist sizes spans and spacing before you get started. Floor joists align with the wall studs which align with the first story floor joists.

1 ft 0 3048 m. In buildings with basements the first level of floor joists serves the same purpose. An inaccessible attic space on the other hand might have a live load of only 20 psf. Section r502 10 of the international residential code states that header joists can be the same size as the floor joists when the header joist span isn t greater than 4 feet but if the header joist span is more than 4 feet you ll need to double the header joist and ensure that it s capable of.

Floor joists installed on second or third or higher levels double as ceiling joists for the level below. Additional support for the floor joists is achieved by nailing the ends of the joists into headers. Joist span and spacing is set by your local building code. Dead load weight of structure and fixed loads 10 lbs ft 2.

Randy wiebe and his team of skilled builders from rj contracting and consulting finished work for the day on the second floor floor joists with cross bracin.