ABSTRACT
Suspended floors transfer their dead and live loads to the building structure and not directly to the ground. Two types of suspended ground floors are common in domestic construction; timber joist and beam and block. The floor consists of pre-stressed concrete ‘T’ beams, which are supported on the external walls and concrete blocks between the beams. A timber suspended upper floor consists of a series of beams or joists supported by load-bearing walls sized and spaced to carry all the dead and imposed loads without undue deflection. Floor joists can either be built into the external walls or suspended on galvanised steel joist hangers that are built into the walls. The joist hanger method is quicker and easier to install and prevents gaps around joist and the wall which allow air leakage. To reduce the overall depth of a traditional, cast in-situ, reinforced concrete beam and slab suspended floor a ribbed floor could be used.
