Loft Conversion Floor Joists Size

Joist span and spacing is set by your local building code.

Loft conversion floor joists size.

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. 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. In this video i show how i cut my my joists make packer plates get the joists from the garden up int. Surveyors and structural engineers use data from tables below to help calculate the size of timbers necessary to give adequate support to timber floors.

New floor joists are measured and trimmed to size then dropped into the joist hangers and secured in position. Ceiling joists are tied to the floor joists with steel straps to stabilise the ceiling. Spacer noggins solid struts are installed between joists to reduce joist deflection vibration improve floor rigidity and performance. 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 size for loft storage i would like to use the loft space for storage and lay loft flooring however i am unsure if the existing joists would support the weight. 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. The loft room will also have to be separated by a fire door either at the top or bottom of the new stairs. I do not plan on ever using it as a habitable space so do not want to spend unnecessary funds on it.

This is part 2 in my series of loft conversion videos.