On 06/06/2010 15:03, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Is there a convention for which way joists run in a house? e.g. Front to
back or side to side?

And if the joists in the loft run front to back, would all the others?


I don't think so! My house - as built - had some going front to back and
some going side to side[1].

Joists in the loft of a 'simple' house, with gable ends and the roof
sloping down each side from the ridge, are more likely to run front to
back - with the bottom ends of the rafters tied into them - or the
equivalent with a trussed roof. This doesn't apply to more complex roof
designs - such as hipped, or with additional gables at right angles to
the main roof. Even in the simple case, I don't think you can deduce
much about lower levels from the direction of roof joists.

[1] At one end of the house they're front to back, and then there's an
RSJ parallel to these joists - which supports an upstairs dividing wall,
and carries one end of the side to side joists at the other end of the house
--
Cheers,
Roger
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