Floor Structure

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  Running a Timber-Framing Business (Subscriber content)

  Modern tools bring this traditional building method into the 21st century.

   

• 2006 JLC Index

  Our annual listing of features and departments.

   
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  Framing the First-Floor Deck (Subscriber content)

  The work goes faster if you use a laser, install anchor straps instead of anchor bolts, and measure as little as possible.

   
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  Framing a Spiral Staircase (Subscriber content)

  Painstaking layout made it possible to build this lighthouse stair with standard framing tools

   
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  Replacing a Bearing Wall With a Flush Beam (Subscriber content)

  A shallow steel-reinforced beam preserved headroom in this low-ceilinged room.

   
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  Letters

  Note from New Jersey; snow-covered vent pipes; the continuing safety-factor discussion; more

   
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  Products

  Truck accessories; wood flooring; structural fasteners & connectors

   
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  Fast Floors With Structural Insulated Panels (Subscriber content)

  Using floor panels supported by engineered-lumber girders cuts production time on SIP houses.

   
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  Foolproof Layout For Winding Stairs (Subscriber content)

  While new stair codes have made winders more complicated to build, full-scale layout eliminates the guesswork.

   
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  Q&A: Setting Ceramic Tile Over Long-Span Steel Joists

  Q. The plans for a new house call for saltillo tile over a 3/4-inch plywood subfloor with 1/2-inch concrete backerboard (Durock) thinset and screwed to the plywood. The floor joists are Dietrich Trade Ready Floor System 12-gauge steel joists at 16 inches

   
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  Building a Timber Barn (Subscriber content)

  For customers who want the look of a timber-frame outbuilding without the cost, this Massachussetts builder has developed a straightforward approach to stick framing with heavy timbers.

   
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  Time-Saving Tools For Framers and Finish Carpenters (Subscriber content)

  Trying to speed production and increase accuracy on the job? These tools deserve a look.

   
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  Protecting the Job Site (Subscriber content)

  A high-end remodeler describes his simple system for protecting existing surfaces and new work with hardboard, tape, plastic sheeting, and other inexpensive materials.

   

• Q&A: Should Floor Trusses Be Attached to Walls Below?

  Q. What is the proper way to attach an interior basement wall to floor trusses ? both perpendicular walls and walls that run parallel with the bottom chord and fall between the trusses. I have been told to nail directly to the trusses, and I have bee

   
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  Builder Blunders

  Nobody's perfect, but some builders are more imperfect than others. A veteran troubleshooter describes some memorable on-the-job mistakes.

   

• Q&A: Insulating a Floor Over an Unheated Garage

  Q. Any suggestions on the best way to insulate the ceiling of a garage? The garage will have an in-law suite above, with living, sleeping, and bath areas. The floor construction will be 2x10 joists, or possibly 117/16-inch wood I-joists. I'm especially co

   

• Framing Guidelines (Subscriber content)

  Notching & boring joists & studs * Structural rules of thumb for wall, floor & roof framing * Shed dormers * Structural ridges * Framing solutions with metal connectors

   
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  Kitchen & Bath: Prepping Wood-Framed Floors for Tile (Subscriber content)

  Prepping wood-framed floors for tile

   

• Q&A: Long-Span Floor Joists

  Q. Would floor trusses or wood I-joists be stronger over a 26-foot span?

   
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  Q&A: Plumbing Around Floor Trusses

  Q: We’re installing a fiberglass tub unit over a truss-framed floor. A small plan change moved the tub so that the overflow pipe lines up with a floor truss below. There’s just enough room to run the drain above the truss, but is it okay to run the drain horizontally for a foot or so beyond where...