Floor Joists - Which Way?

[Bill]

Hi All,

1960's semi detached house. Is there any particular way that the 1st floor
joists tended to be laid? i.e. front to back or side to side? Or is it an
inspection job?

Regards.
Bill.

[allan]

Post by Bill
Hi All,
1960's semi detached house. Is there any particular way that the 1st floor
joists tended to be laid? i.e. front to back or side to side? Or is it an
inspection job?
Regards.
Bill.

The floor boards should tell you Mine in a 1960s semi go from front to back.

[Mark]

Post by Bill
Hi All,
1960's semi detached house. Is there any particular way that the 1st floor
joists tended to be laid? i.e. front to back or side to side? Or is it an
inspection job?
Regards.
Bill.

At right angles to the floorboards.


mark

[Bill]

Thanks both, but I was wondering if I could establish that without pulling
up the fitted carpet!
Regards.
Bill.

[Palindrome]

Post by Bill
Thanks both, but I was wondering if I could establish that without pulling
up the fitted carpet!

Looking in places like an a airing cupbaord may do the trick.

Or removing a lighting ceiling rose in the ceiling below and seeing
which way the grain goes in the hole in the wood that the wires come
through or beside.. the wires often have enough slack to pull the rose
down enough to look, without disconnecting anything.

Usual caveat about switching the mains off applies..

[Cicero]

Post by Bill
Thanks both, but I was wondering if I could establish that without pulling
up the fitted carpet!
Regards.
Bill.

==================================
A 'stud finder' used on the ceiling in the rooms below should reveal the
direction. Don't assume that the joists are laid in the same direction in
all rooms.

Cic.

[ARWadsworth]

Post by Cicero

Post by Bill
Thanks both, but I was wondering if I could establish that without pulling
up the fitted carpet!
Regards.
Bill.

==================================
A 'stud finder' used on the ceiling in the rooms below should reveal the
direction. Don't assume that the joists are laid in the same direction in
all rooms.

Brilliant advice Cic. I have worked in many house where the layout of the
joists change directions in different rooms. My original idea was to say the
upstairs joists usually run parallel to the gable end.

Adam

[Cicero]

Post by ARWadsworth

Post by Cicero

Post by Bill
Thanks both, but I was wondering if I could establish that without pulling
up the fitted carpet!
Regards.
Bill.

==================================
A 'stud finder' used on the ceiling in the rooms below should reveal
the direction. Don't assume that the joists are laid in the same
direction in all rooms.

Brilliant advice Cic. I have worked in many house where the layout of
the joists change directions in different rooms. My original idea was to
say the upstairs joists usually run parallel to the gable end.
Adam

...

==================================
I suppose there are some general rules about joist layout. In a semi it
seems obvious that ground floor suspended floors should have joists
running back to front so that most of the air bricks can be at front and
back. On first floors it seems that it might depend on downstairs openings
- windows and doors. There will be more support for the joists if they're
mounted in solid walls where there are no possible weak spots such as
lintels in the brickwork below.

Cic.

[Mark]

Post by Bill
Hi All,
1960's semi detached house. Is there any particular way that the 1st floor
joists tended to be laid? i.e. front to back or side to side? Or is it an
inspection job?

In my experience, floorboards usually run at right angles to the window.
Therefore the joists would be parallel to the window wall.

mark

[Brian G]

Post by Mark

Post by Bill
Hi All,
1960's semi detached house. Is there any particular way that the 1st
floor joists tended to be laid? i.e. front to back or side to side?
Or is it an inspection job?

In my experience, floorboards usually run at right angles to the
window. Therefore the joists would be parallel to the window wall.
mark

Mark,

Just to be pedantic, my joists run parallel with the windows - thus the
boards run at 90 degrees to this :-)

To the OP, if the house is a semi-detached, then the odds are that the
joists are going to run parallel with the party wall.

Brian G