Laying Ground Floor Joists

This article will assume 16 o c.

Laying ground floor joists.

Start at one corner of the foundation and layout the joists 16 o c. 1 2 are the walls of the room while a b c etc are the floorboards. Floor joists are typically spaced 16 o c. Laying a floor joist in a wood frame house is a simple procedure that can be done in 4 easy steps.

There are very few square rooms. The diagram below represents a typical room within which the dotted lines represent a square section of the room. You ll use the same size lumber to assemble the rim joists as you will for the main floor 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.

Make a plan to set the planks along the edges of the wall and then in 16 inch intervals between the two edge pieces. If you hook your tape measure on the sill plate that runs parallel to the joist layout then you will find 16 on the tape measure and subtract half the thickness of the joist to mark the. Joists are cut to lay flush with the outer surface of the. 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.

Cut a 2 by 4 plank for each joist location to the measured room width using a circular saw. The rim joist sits vertically on top of the sill plate along the outside of the frame to create a lip for the main floor joists. Divide the length by 16 inches to determine the number of floor joists needed for floor overage. For most jobs 2 in 5 1 cm x 10 in 25 cm boards are an ideal size.

Joists range in size from 2 x 6 to 2 x 12 based on the distance being spanned.