Small House: Joists and Flooring | RTS Historic Homes
- Tara Miller
- Dec 8, 2016
- 2 min read
When we left off last time, we had just finished the piers and beams (laminated 2x12’s) and were ready to start the floor. But let me back track a little to highlight the base we used to secure the beams to the cement piers. The product is called a post base and our bases were big enough to accommodate two 2x12’s with a ½ in. plywood glued and screwed between. Here is a link to the product we used from Home Depot.
When the cement had set enough that the post base would not sink, Garrett placed it on top and using a string attached at the first pier and last pier to determine the exact placement of each post base so the beams would fit straight when assembled and put in place. Since it is difficult to exactly line up beams using a ride-on auger each post base would not be sitting in the center of each post. By using the string to determine placement you can be sure when you place your beam that is will line up.
String method: Sometimes the simplest tools are the best.
Beams in place, Garrett is checking for level. Add shims to adjust level.
With the beams in place, we moved on to the floor joists. Each joist was made of 2x10x10 overlapping in the center. These beams were just placed on top of the beams, perpendicular to the beams then screwed together. Using a string from one end to the other, we made sure each joist matched up and any that were too long were trimmed with a circular saw. Then a rim joist was added to box in the joists. This was a doubled 2x10 all the way around.
Rim joist doubled at the bottom of the image and floor joists going back.
Finished joists with rim joist, ready for flooring.
Our flooring as delivered.
Garrett calculated that the price of 2x6 tongue and groove would be less expensive than underlayment and flooring. The tongue and groove ended up running $2.82 S.F. including underlayment, screws, decking glue (added under each board where it meets the joist to prevent squeaks) and the boards. That is much cheaper considering the cheapest flooring you can find runs between $2-$3 without underlayment or accessories. Garrett ran the flooring diagonally to provide even more stretch to the structure. We staggered the seams and screwed into the tongue at each joist. Be forewarned that even #1 grade tongue and groove is not a uniform size and when seaming pick all your pieces for that row at the same time to be sure you are putting like widths together. We found discrepancies of up to ½” in width among our boards. Also keep your scraps because you can use them for other projects like stairs, doors and built-ins.
The underside of the flooring.
Once the first floor was finished we were ready to move onto the first floor framing. For this we ordered about 200 2x4x92 5/8" and at least 20 1x4x10" & 1x4x16" for bracing. Check in next time for the framing.
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