

On the floor, the joists run from one side of the foundation sill to the other. When you have a two-story home, your ceiling joists may also be the floor joists of the upper level.

And in modern homes, you may even find joists constructed like I-beams. Typically, these joists are 2圆's, but they might only be 2x4's in some older homes. They are what your sheetrock is nailed to. In the ceiling, the joists are pieces of wood that run from one side of the room to the other. Please keep reading while we share what we found.įirst, let's explain what joists are. We'll examine if ceiling joists run parallel to floor joists, if you can use a stud finder to help find the joists, if joists are load-bearing, what the difference between joists and rafters is, and finally, what does the phrase joint span mean. We're going to look at this more in-depth in the post below. Sometimes, though, you'll need to get into the attic and pull back insulation or get into the basement to see how the joists run. With ceilings that have rafters, they typically run parallel to the rafters. For floors, they will typically run across the shorter width of the room. It's not always easy to tell which way floor and ceiling joists run.

So how do you tell where they are?ĭisclosure: We may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As we've researched, both structures serve important roles for bearing weight. Tearing out the wrong joists could cause real problems. Which way do floor and ceiling joists run? If you're planning on doing any sort of remodel that involves opening space or removing walls, you're going to want to know this important detail.
