Suspended Timber First Floor Construction

Different types of ground floor suspended flooring.

Suspended timber first floor construction.

Suspended timber 58 m. These floor joists are raised above the subfloor on small supporting walls called tassel walls or sleeper walls. Most self builders now fit underfloor heating into their homes. Ventilation is required in the same way as a suspended timber floor.

Block and beam 81 m. Alongside being cheap and easy to construct timber floors benefit from being able to be adapted on site if need. This construction is similar to the timber floor above but uses either pre cast concrete planks or small pre cast concrete beams with concrete blocks laid between the beams. At the turn of the 18th century when construction techniques moved from boarded floors installed directly on the ground to suspended timber floors over a ventilated chamber the innovation solved a significant problem.

Suspended floors are the norm for first floors and above but are also excellent for creating a level ground floor over uneven ground. A typical wood frame floor covered with carpet or vinyl flooring has a dead load of about 8 pounds per square foot. Suspended timber floors which are typically found in older houses are normally made from timber floorboards which are then attached to joists just above the foundations of a house. This creates a small gap and allows ventilation and air movement to prevent damp forming in the timber joists.

If there s wall board covered ceiling suspended from the underside of that floor the dead load increases to about 10 pounds per square foot. These can be classed as either suspended or solid. Just how well this works depends to a great extent on the floor construction. Previously floor timbers had been prone to damp and rot thanks to their direct contact with the moist ground.

Concrete floors are high mass and will act like a giant storage heater staying warm for many hours without any heat. Constructing a floor installing insulation and laying 18mm chip board tongue and groove any questions fire away i always answer music by joakim karud dreams. Concrete vs timber floors. They can normally span greater distances than timber joists.

Suspended timber ground floors consist of the finished timber floorboards being attached to floor joists which are suspended above the subfloor of the foundation. Solid floors are a lot more substantial and require the ground to be made up in layers of ground sub base sand compacted hard core damp proof membrane insulation and concrete.