Hayloft flooring?

PRF · May 30, 2015

I've been tinkering with our old barn for a few years now.. We had a local saw mill cut the same sized 3"x5" floor joists that were in there (2' on center) and we're using 3/4" T&G AdvanTech plywood..One side is done now and it feels very strong..

USAFpj · May 31, 2015

PRF- may I ask how you hung your joists? Our joists are still solid (unless post beetles know better), and they were nailed to the 4in portion of the true 2x4 studs. The (2) nails are immense, and more of a spike than a nail:laughing:. I need to research if this is proper for load bearing, or if hangers should be installed.

jim_wilson · May 31, 2015

EddieWalker said:
I would go with plywood or even better, upgrade to tongue and groove. I think Advantech has it over an inch thick, which would be even better for your spacing. Since you are not putting hay up there and it's just storage, I wouldn't worry about it being slippery, seems to me that it would be easier to keep clean and you would have fewer bugs up there if they can't get through the gaps in a floor made of boards.

Eddie

Advantech is great stuff - and might be a good choice for a hayloft. I've used it on the floor of the addition I put on my house - and for the floor of the 2nd floor of my barn. In both cases - it was exposed to water for extended periods of time and the worst thing that happened was that it turned grey a little. Because it's a "chipboard" type construction - it does have a semi-rough finish - especially if you expose it to the elements for a while. I even used 3/4" Advantech for what was supposed to be a "temporary" deck off the side of my house. Put the stuff down and painted it with grey deck paint. After what has turned out to be 13 years - there is one place where the paint wore away that I didn't get after quick enough - and it's started to wear/rot thru - but that place is the highest wear point of the entire deck - right at the top of the stairs where everybody puts their foot when they step up. The rest of it is solid.

I believe you can get Advantech in 1.25" thickness - which might cover your span. Around here that thickness is special order. If I remember correctly - HD or Lowes was carrying Advantech at one point.

jim_wilson · May 31, 2015

USAFpj said:
PRF- may I ask how you hung your joists? Our joists are still solid (unless post beetles know better), and they were nailed to the 4in portion of the true 2x4 studs. The (2) nails are immense, and more of a spike than a nail:laughing:. I need to research if this is proper for load bearing, or if hangers should be installed.

Hangars are probably the better bet - most of the newer building codes specify the use of hangars for structural strength. The stuff that typically gets carried at HD or Lowes is but a small subset of what is available. If you can't find exactly what you need there - or at your local lumberyard - find the Simpson catalog online and go thru it - they make a huge assortment of stuff.

The other option is to get custom stuff made - there's lots of guys out there now who have CNC plasma tables available and can custom cut steel braces and so forth.

bigtiller · May 31, 2015

I would go with 2x8 tongue & grove form Menards. Is 1 layer of plywood enough? The floor of my house has a layer 3/4 OSB and a layer of 3/4 T&G plywood over it.

PRF · May 31, 2015

USAFpj said:
PRF- may I ask how you hung your joists? Our joists are still solid (unless post beetles know better), and they were nailed to the 4in portion of the true 2x4 studs. The (2) nails are immense, and more of a spike than a nail:laughing:. I need to research if this is proper for load bearing, or if hangers should be installed.

We just butt joined them on the 6" wide beam below and used a framing nailer to toenail them in.. It's not going anywhere anytime soon.. At the ends we used joist hangers to tie into the sill.