How To Tell Which Way Floor Joists Run

The correct direction for laying hardwood floors.

How to tell which way floor joists run.

Take one slide it around on the floor until it appears to catch on something. 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. The notching and boring rules of thumb for solid lumber are shown in fig. 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.

Bearing lines also specify where joists are cut as can walls and beams. And all the first and 2nd floor joist will hit on the same bearing load walls like. Joist direction lines specify joist direction and bearing lines define the boundaries for joist direction. If your home is more than 20 years old your floor joists are most likely solid wood 2x8s 2x10s or 2x12s.

Follow the rules to keep your floor solid. There are often visual clues. We have had a frozen waterpipe there and i want to check for damage to the pipe a. For vinyl floor get a pair of very high strength magnets.

But if you need to know the exact location of each joist you have a couple of options. If you only need to know which direction the joists run access the attic and take a look. Then following where you think the joist may run as posted above shortest run between exterior walls slide the other magnet until it catches something again. You can notch and bore joists without sacrificing critical strength but you must follow the rules.

It is most common for them to run across the short dimension a room but this. On a home the floor joist on the first floor and on the 2nd will run the same way so the stairs can line up like. Ceiling joists can run in any direction and it is often very difficult to tell which way they are running without being able to seem them. I want to know where the floor joists are inside a small closet because i may need to make an additional trap door to access the crawl space nearby under our kitchen.