How To Make A Floor Beam

The simplest type of built up beam can be constructed by following three easy steps.

How to make a floor beam.

Floor joists or beams provide the below surface support for the wood subfloor of a room. Sometimes you may want to have a beam holding the floor but you don t want the beam to be below the floor joists. Choose high strength quality lumber for building beams. Flip the beam over.

Wood framing tables can contain a lot of information in one table. Though joists may be any size that you desire using typical floor joist and beam specifications ensures that you can find hardware to fit the joists and that the floor provides adequate support for furniture and other items in a room. The extra two inches of vertical distance when a floor is framed with 2 x 10 joists rather than 2 x 12s can be quite important for example. Ceiling joists are usually 2 by 6s or sometimes 2 by 4s if it is an older home.

Select straight boards that are neither twisted crowned or bowed for the beam components. Make a wood beam with 2 8 boards. Floor joists should be spaced no more than 16 inches 41 cm apart from center to center to provide adequate stability. Make sure that the ends and sides of the boards are flush the plywood should not protrude from within the center of the boards for the beam.

A wood beam has many advantages over steel beams due to the properties that make it lightweight. Begin at one end of the beam and nail the boards together using the 12 penny nails and hammer. I hope you found this article helpful. Learn how with this residential structural design tutorial.

Making a 20 foot wood beam to support your floor or ceiling is pretty easy and basic but remember to wear your personal protective equipment before you get started. Learning how to design with them becomes straight forward with a few pointers. A steel or wooden beam runs the length of the house and the ends of floor joists rest on it. This problem can be solved by installing a beam in the floor joist system and hanging the floor joists on the beam.

Measure the length of the beam on one of the boards. Use a tape measure to measure 16 inches 41 cm in from the edge of the rim joist and draw a small notch. Use a triangular measuring square to make a straight square cut. Some newer homes have manufactured i beam shaped joists.

Step 1 cut the individual boards. Make another notch every 16 inches 41 cm to confirm the distance between each next joist. Make sure to use construction adhesive in the seat of the hanger to prevent floor squeaks. Floor joists are typically 2 by 8s 2 by 10s or 2 by 12s.

A load bearing beam carries the weight of the structure above it. How to read floor beam span tables page includes a span calculator. A good example of a load bearing beam is often seen in many basements. A floor s framework is made up mostly of wooden joists that run parallel to one another at regular intervals.