Unlike stiffness live loads and dead loads are added together to determine minimum design values for strength.
Floor stiffness 360 or 480.
Looking for a wood floor which will give exemplary performance with a minimum of bounce.
Increased floor stiffness is desired used with permission.
I prefer to go with a span chart that uses l 480 for the live load.
L 300 girders spans to 36 ft b ll 60 psf.
And since it is small i will leave the source for where it is found here 1.
The solution is to specify an upgrade to a lesser deflection than the code required l 360.
The l stands for length.
The amount of flex depends on the magnitude of the load applied span of the member and stiffness of the member.
Attic floors with limited storage l 240 10 psf.
A general rule for limiting deflection of simple spans is that the deflection should not exceed the span in inches divided by 360 max d l 360.
To take weyerhaeuser s trus joist span tables as an example 17 feet 2 inches is the maximum span with an l 360 deflection ratio allowed by code for a floor that s framed with the company s 9 inch deep nominal 2x10 series 110 tji joists spaced 16 inches on center.
The deflection for exposed ceiling beams at the roof is often allowed to be 50 to 100 greater l 240 or l 180.
Typically for better performing floors minimal defection is desired.
Strength of a material is obviously important.
L 360 60 psf ll 80 psf.
Chapter 3 of the international residential code irc provides the maximum allowable deflection for a given structural member floor roof wall etc.
For this reason i don t recommend using a span chart for any kind of floor member that uses l 360 as the deflection criteria.
That means l 360 is implied for the total load deflection and it will result in much better floor performance.
Please read everything on the attached photo below.
Floor beams commercial office institutional floor joists spans to 26 ft b ll 60 psf.
L 360 ll 80 psf.
So if you have a beam 20ft long the allowable deflection limit is 20ftx12in ft 240 1.
Applied load dead load a.
Ask your building designer about the investment difference to increase stiffness to l 480 or even l 720.