Raised Timber Floor Construction

An illustrated look at how a typical wood frame floor is built including sublooring and more.

Raised timber floor construction. The dead load on a floor is determined by the materials used in the floor s construction. Raised floors are more resilient under foot and provide access for heating equipment insulation plumbing wiring and other mechanical. Ventilation is required in the same way as a suspended timber floor. 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.

Whether building a ground floor suspended timber floor or a first floor hollow floor we explain the different options and techniques that you can use in its construction. These floor joists are raised above the subfloor on small supporting walls called tassel walls or sleeper walls. Review the construction process that walks you through the raised floor basics from soils and footings to floor framing. They can normally span greater distances than timber joists.

Though some floors are built on a concrete slab flat on the ground most floors are raised above the ground. Also called raised flooring access flooring or raised access computer flooring a raised floor is a construction model in which an elevated floor is built above a building s original concrete slab surface thereby creating a hidden void between the two floors that is used for the passage of mechanical and electrical services. Issues to be taken into account include. Construction of a raised wood floor helps accommodate the scheduling of trades.

This plan assumes the new raised floor will be open to the lower part of the room on one side as it really wouldn t make sense to do it in a closed room with just a doorway leading in. Suspended timber ground floors consist of the finished timber floorboards being attached to floor joists which are suspended above the subfloor of the foundation. A raised wood floor system can be a cost competitive alternative to a concrete slab system especially when bringing in dirt to elevate a structure is necessary. 6 4 10 construction of timber floors upper floors shall be constructed in a workmanlike manner and provide satisfactory performance.

It also assumes the room has been stripped of all floor coverings trim and other obstructions and that the floor you re building on top of is level. Building a wood framed raised floor foundation compares favorably to the cost of a slab on grade foundation. A typical wood frame floor covered with carpet or vinyl flooring has a dead load of about 8 pounds per square foot. Expedites scheduling of trades.

Building and understanding a suspended or hollow timber floor. 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.