Cutting Joists

On 12 Oct 2004 10:38:54 -0700, [email protected] (Stephen Suplee)
wrote:

|Does anyone know where I can go to find out about cutting and then
|supporting the cut floor joists to install a new staircase? I want to
|cut a new hole in floor either against an outer wall or almost center
|of house along the beams and need to know the min/max distances from
|walls or beam I can a joist at... any help would be greatly
|appreciated. thank you in advance,

Consult a structural engineer.

There is no simple answer to this question. It depends on things like how
far the joists span, and what they are supporting (e.g., do any structural
walls come down on them). If there is a roof load coming down onto them then
you need to look at snow loads if you are in a climate were it snows. If the
stair will run parallel to the joists then you will probably only need to
cut 1 or 2 joists, in which case it's unlikely (but not out of the question)
that you will run into any problems if you just put a header in at either
end and maybe double up the joists on either side (for the full length of
the joists). On the other hand, if the stairs will run perpendicular to the
joists then you will need to cut a lot more of them and things will get much
more complicated.

So, you should probably find either an engineer, an architect who knows how
to do these sorts of calculations, or a carpenter who has enough experience
to tell you whether you need an engineer or an architect and if not what you
should do.

- Bruce

"Stephen Suplee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Does anyone know where I can go to find out about cutting and then
> supporting the cut floor joists to install a new staircase? I want to
> cut a new hole in floor either against an outer wall or almost center
> of house along the beams and need to know the min/max distances from
> walls or beam I can a joist at... any help would be greatly
> appreciated. thank you in advance,
>
> Steve