Second Floor Joist Spacing

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.

Second floor joist spacing. You should also check your local building codes before starting construction and consult a structural engineer in unusual or extreme situations. A live load of 60 pounds per square foot demands more support and shorter spans. Floor joists spaced on regular intervals span the areas between supports such as walls foundations girders and beams. In buildings with basements the first level of floor joists serves the same purpose.

Douglas fir 2 by 10 joists graded as structural select allows joist spans up to 21 feet for a live load of 30 pounds per square foot when spaced 12 inches apart 19 feet 1 inch for 16 inch spacing and 16 feet 8 inches for 24 inch spacing. Floor joists installed on second or third or higher levels double as ceiling joists for the level below. Live load is weight of furniture wind snow and more. Floor joist spacing has traditionally been 24 inches on center or from center to center of the joists.

The extra two inches of vertical distance when a floor is framed with 2 x 10 joists rather than 2 x 12s can be quite important for example. Joist span and spacing is set by your local building code. The span is the inside dimension from the support on one end to the support on the opposite end. 1 psf lb f ft 2 47 88 n m 2.

View of second story floor joists from below. Maximum floor joist span for no. Joist span table use these tables to determine floor joist spans based on grade of lumber size of joist floor joist spacing and a live load of 30 lbs ft 2 or 40 lbs ft 2 these tables can also be used to determine deck joist span. Dead load weight of structure and fixed loads 10 lbs ft 2.

This size is no longer acceptable when framing a structure. 1 ft 0 3048 m. Common sense tells you that large floor joists can carry more load and spacing joists closer together also increases the load bearing capacity of a floor. But larger is not always better when builders are constructing a home or adding a room addition.

2 grade of douglas fir are indicated below. Putting all these factors together gives the minimum size joists needed for various types of wood grades of lumber sizes of boards spacing of joists and the load that will be placed on the floor. Joist sizing and spacing are determined by building codes which are based on. Newer construction has floor joists spaced at 16 inches on center.

The next factor to consider is the joist spacing that will be used and the amount of weight the flooring will need to support. While most residential construction uses 2x8 joists with 16 inch spacing there are many other factors you need to consider when determining the proper joist span length. Floor joist span tables for various sizes and species of wood.