Floor Structure

• Products

  Floor joist patch kits; saws with lights, dust controls, deeper cuts; decorative vinyl windows; gutter cleaning; more

   
• 

  Q&A: Shrinkage Joints in EIFS Cladding

  Q: We’re building a three-story house with plywood sheathing that will be covered with EIFS. Because the house has 9-foot ceilings, the horizontal sheathing joints don’t fall near the band joist area. The EIFS rep says we have to plan for joist shrinkage by establishing a control joint, and he...

   

• Q&A: Underlayment for Resilient Flooring

  Q: Should underlayment for resilient tile be installed perpendicular to the joists, like the subfloor, or parallel to the joists?

   

• Q&A: Particleboard Under Tile

  Q: We will be installing ceramic tile flooring in the kitchen of an existing house. The subfloor consists of 1/2-inch plywood over 3/4-inch particleboard (not OSB). The joists are spaced 16-inches on-center. My plan is to install 1/2-inch cementitious bac

   

• New Tools from the Builders' Show (Subscriber content)

  We pounded the floors at the Atlanta Builders’ Show looking for the best new tools to help your work go easier and faster.

   

• Q&A: Fixing a Moldy Crawlspace

  Q: A homeowner wants me to eliminate the moldy smell from a crawlspace. The crawlspace has a concrete floor, with fiberglass batt insulation between the floor joists. There are two louvered vents that are left open year-round. Would it help to insulate the walls with rigid foam and seal the vents...

   
• 

  Q&A: Laying a Hardwood Floor Parallel to the Joists

  Q: For aesthetic reasons, I would like to run 3/4x3-inch oak strip flooring parallel to the floor joists, instead of perpendicular as is typical. Is there any reason I can’t do it? The subfloor is 3/4-inch tongue-and-groove plywood.

   
• 

  Q&A: Correcting Sagging Joists

  Q: A double 2x8 floor joist that runs beneath a nonbearing partition has deflected 5/8 inch in the middle. If I jack the joist up, returning the compressed and stretched wood fibers back to their original positions, will they stay that way?

   

• Practical Engineering: Calculating Loads on Overhanging Floors (Subscriber content)

  Calculating loads on overhanging joists

   

• Innovative tools and materials (Subscriber content)

  Among the thousands of new building products introduced each year are some that help you build faster, better, and more economically. Here’s our pick of some of the best.

   

• Notebook

  Tariffs on drilled studs may be reinstated, Arizona OSHA found liable in job-site death, becoming an expert witness, tax law on sub vs. employee

   
• 

  Q&A: Purpose of T&G Plywood

  Q: Does tongue-and-groove plywood add extra strength or stiffness to a floor system, or does it just help prevent floor squeaks?

   

• Update: Engineered Lumber (Subscriber content)

  The decline in the quality of solid-sawn lumber has led manufacturers to develop a growing variety of engineered lumber substitutes. We look at some of the new materials that are finding their way on to residential job sites.

   

• Building Technology: Fifteen Years of Change (Subscriber content)

  We take a look back at the new products and technologies that have changed the way we build.

   

• Q&A: Hardwood Floors Over I-Joists

  Q: Are there any problems with installing hardwood floor over wood I-joists?

   

• Practical Engineering: A Cure for Bouncy Floors (Subscriber content)

  Stiffen bouncy floors with plywood

   

• Trouble-Free Stairs (Subscriber content)

  In stair-building, most finish headaches start out as framing foul-ups. A veteran builder shows how to accurately figure rise and run, locate landings, and install squeakless treads and risers.

   

• Products

  Cordless recip saw, waterproof deck lumber, safe ladder jack staging, prefab templates for undermount sinks

   

• Kitchen & Bath: Staying on Top of the Kitchen (Subscriber content)

  Avoiding installation trouble spots

   

• Q&A: Joist Sizing Rule of Thumb

  Q: Is there a simple way to size floor joists?