Standard Spacing For Floor Joists
A 2x8 up to 12 feet.
Standard spacing for floor joists. The floor joist spacing is the distance between the centers of any two installed joists. This means from the center of one upright joist to the center of the next. Since the example house we are designing for is 12 feet wide we need to find in the floor joist span table a joist size and centering that can span 12 or wider.
This sample table gives minimum floor joist sizes for joists spaced at 16 inches and 24 inches on center o c for 2 grade lumber with 10 pounds per square foot of dead load and 40 pounds of live load which is typical of normal residential construction. While most residential construction uses 2x8 joists with 16 inch spacing there are many other factors you need to consider when determining the proper joist span length. See the image below for an example of joists spaced 16 on center 16 o c.
In general terms joists spaced 16 inches on center can span 1 5 times in feet their depth in inches. Typical construction layout for mobile home floor joists is 24 on center. With some structures floor joists are required to be 12 or 24 inches apart on center.
Two options that arise could be your wider 24 and your narrower 12 options for spacing. 2x10 to 15 feet and 2x12 to 18 feet. Beams the term beam generally refers to pieces of wood that run thicker than standard joists.
Joists may be spaced as closely as you like but spacing joists 10 to 12 inches apart should handle almost any home use. Given that 2x8s are actually 1 inches wide it works out to be 14 inches between each joist. Floor joists spaced on regular intervals span the areas between supports such as walls foundations girders and beams.
When building a house or even a deck it is important to confirm you have the correct joist sizes spans and spacing before you get started. In many circumstances 16 inches would be your standard spacing for shed floor joist but this is just a rough guideline. Normally floor joists are spaced 16 inches apart on center.