Joist

In architecture and engineering, a joist is one of the hori- ture by using deeper but more expensive joists, because
zontal supporting members that run between foundations, fewer joists needed and longer spans are achieved, which
walls, or beams to support a ceiling or oor. Typically, more than makes up for the added cost of deeper joists.
a joist has the cross section of a plank. Joists are often
supported by beams laid out in repetitive patterns.

2 Types
1

Strength

A double oor is a oor framed with joists supported by larger

timbers.

In traditional timber framing there may be a single set of

joists which carry both a oor and ceiling called a single
oor (single joist oor, single framed oor) or two sets
of joists, one carrying the oor and another carrying the
ceiling called a double oor (double framed oor). The
term binding joist is sometimes used to describe beams
at oor level running perpendicular to the ridge of a gable
roof and joined to the intermediate posts. Joists which
land on a binding joist are called bridging joists.[3][4]
A large beam in the ceiling of a room carrying joists is
a summer beam. A ceiling joist may be installed ush
with the bottom of the beam or sometimes below the
beam. Joists left exposed and visible from below are
called naked ooring or articulated (a modern U.S.
term) and were typically planed smooth (wrought) and
sometimes chamfered or beaded.

A single oor or simple set of joists. If the joists land directly

above the studs they are stacked.

Joists need to be designed large enough to support the

anticipated load over a long period of time and in some
countries such as the United States to meet standards
for stiness. The wider the span between the supporting structures, the deeper the joist will need to be if
it is not to deect under load. Lateral support called
dwang,[1] blocking,[2] or strutting[2] also increases its
strength. There are approved formulas for calculating
the depth required and reducing the depth as needed;
however, a rule of thumb for calculating the depth of a
wooden oor joist for a residential property is half the
span in feet plus two inches; for example, the joist depth
required for a 14foot span is 9 inches. Many steel joist
manufacturers supply load tables in order to allow designers to select the proper joist sizes for their projects.

3 Connections to supporting beams

Joists may join to their supporting beams in many ways:
joists resting on top of the supporting beams are said
to be lodged"; dropped in using a butt cog joint (a type
of lap joint), half-dovetail butt cog, or a half-dovetail lap
joint. Joists may also be tenoned in during the raising
with a sot tenon or a tusk tenon (possibly with a hous-

Engineered wood products such as I-joists gain strength

from the depth of the oor or the height of each joist,
as well as the larger bottom and top chords, as compared
to standard dimensional lumber joists. A common saying
regarding structural design is that deeper is cheaper, referring to the more cost-eective design of a given struc1

REFERENCES

Joists can have dierent joints on either ends such as being tenoned on one end and lodged on the other end. A
reduction in the under-side of cogged joist-ends may be
square, sloped or curved. Typically joists do not tie the
beams together, but sometimes they are pinned or designed to hold under tension. Joists on the ground oor
were sometimes a pole (pole joist, half-round joist, log
joist. A round timber with one at surface) and in barns
long joists were sometimes supported on a sleeper (a timber not joined to but supporting other beams). Joists left
out of an area form an opening called a well as in a
stairwell or chimney-well. The joists forming the well are
the heading joist (header) and trimming joist (trimmer).
Trimmers take the name of the feature such as hearth
trimmer, stair trimmer, etc.
Shortened joists are said to be crippled. The term rim
joist is rare before the 1940s in America; it forms the
edge of a oor. The outermost joist in half timber construction may be of a more durable species than the interior joists. In a barn, loose poles above the drive oor
are called a scaold. Between the joists, the area called a
joist-bay, and above the ceiling in some old houses is material called pugging, which was used to deaden sound,
insulate, and resist the spread of re.

4 See also
Rafter
Truss
A joist hanger.

ing). Joists can also be joined by being slipped into mortises after the beams are in place such as a chase mortise (pulley mortise), L-mortise, or short joist. Also,
in some Dutch-American work, ground level joists are
placed on a foundation and then a sill placed on top of
the joists such as what timber frame builder Jack Sobon
called an inverted sill or with a plank sill.

Purlin
Girder
Framing (construction)

5 References
[1] Fleming, Eric. Construction technology: an illustrated introduction. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. 105. Print.
[2] Emmitt, Stephen, R. Barry, and Christopher A. Gorse.
Barrys advanced construction of buildings. 2nd ed.
Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. 3-94. Print.
[3] John Henry Parker A Glossary of Terms used in the Grecian, Roman, Italian and Gothic Architecture (1840)
[4] joist def. 1. Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition
on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press (2009)

These joists land on a beam. Between some of the joists is a

form of pugging used for insulation and air sealing. Image:
Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed

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