Strong Floors: Understanding Floor Joist Spans

In this episode of All About Home Construction, we’re taking a deep dive into floor joist spans — a crucial part of building safe, strong, and long-lasting floors. We’ll cover the basics of what a span is, why it matters, and how lumber size, spacing, and wood species all come into play.

You’ll also learn the difference between live load and dead load, why “maximum span” isn’t always the best span, and how to prevent those bouncy or squeaky floors. Plus, we’ll talk about when engineered solutions like I-joists or LVLs are the right choice for big, open rooms.

Whether you’re a DIY homeowner, a future homebuilder, or just curious about how your home is put together, this episode will give you the knowledge to make smarter, safer choices in construction.