Floor Joists Front To Back

The direction of the joists can either be party wall to party wall or front to back.

Floor joists front to back.

In buildings with basements the first level of floor joists serves the same purpose. In the past 2x4s or 2x6s were sometimes used as floor joists. While personal preference is a factor the direction in which you run hardwood flooring boards is governed by visual and structural guidelines. If your home is more than 20 years old your floor joists are most likely solid wood 2x8s 2x10s or 2x12s.

If you are installing hardwood in the front room of your house you should take into consideration where the front door is located. You can notch and bore joists without sacrificing critical strength but you must follow the rules. I suppose there are some general rules about joist layout. Therefore you should consider.

This size is no longer acceptable when framing a structure. Most of the time the standard way to install hardwood in this area is perpendicular to the door. The correct direction for laying hardwood floors. Floor joists installed on second or third or higher levels double as ceiling joists for the level below.

The notching and boring rules of thumb for solid lumber are shown in fig. The floor joists under the wood floor hold the sub floor in place. On first floors it seems that it might depend on downstairs openings windows and doors. The floor was normally covered with square edged softwood boards and finished with a lath and plaster ceiling usually 3 coats of lime plaster.