Second Story Floor Joist Design

Framers construct the second story floor system to match the layout of the main floor system.

Second story floor joist design.

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. Joist span and spacing is set by your local building code. 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. A design value table shows that the joists have an fb value of 1 495 and an e value of 1 900 000.

In general terms joists spaced 16 inches on center can span 1 5 times in feet their depth in inches. Ripping the roof off your house and adding a second story addition on top might sound like a drastic means of gaining space but there are various situations in which a total home makeover makes sense. A lot of questions revolve around joists when it comes to building a deck. But larger is not always better when builders are constructing a home or adding a room addition.

What is the proper placement. The widest span in the floor joist span table in part 2 of this tutorial module showed that floor joists can span 17 2 if they are 2 x 12s spaced 12 o c. As an example consider a room with a floor area of 10 feet by 11 feet 2 inches built with no. The ability to stay in the neighborhood you ve lived in.

2x10 to 15 feet and 2x12 to 18 feet. Use a design value table to find the fb value for your floor joists. Typically the second story floor joists will not only run the same direction as the first floor joists they will also be directly over them. 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.

So the house dimensions will now be 24 x 13. Live load is weight of furniture wind snow and more. See the image below for an example of joists spaced 16 on center 16 o c. 1 grade 2 by 6 douglas fir larch joists spaced 16 inches on center.

Maximum floor joist span for no. Dead load weight of structure and fixed loads 10 lbs ft 2. Let s expand our house beyond that 17 2 span capability to 24 feet wide. Since the example house we are designing for is 12 feet wide we need to find in the floor joist span table a joist size and centering that can span 12 or wider.

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. 1 ft 0 3048 m. A 2x8 up to 12 feet. Second floor construction techniques follow a standard process.

2 grade of douglas fir are indicated below. How do i keep them even. How far apart are floor joists placed.