Tile Floor Deflection Calculator
If you have engineered truss or i beam type joists please do not use this calculator.
Tile floor deflection calculator. See the table below. For example the allowable deflection of a 12ft span floor joist with plaster l 360 is 0 4 12ft divided by 360. Residential floors are typically sized for a live load of 40 psf and a dead load or 10 psf. Excessive deflection in a wood floor system is a common cause for cracking in thin set tile installations.
Recent research has shown tile to fail under some conditions when the floor is more rigid than l 360. This free tile calculator estimates the total number of tiles needed to cover an area such as a floor wall or roof. Calculating deflection many tile contractors can judge a floor s deflection by walking around. Learn more about it here.
Regardless of the type of tile you re using whether it s porcelain tile stone tile or wood tile our tile flooring calculator can help you get an estimate of the supplies and man hours required. Because ceramic floor tile is rigid and unforgiving it needs a structurally sound immobile base. Deflection or bounciness can cause tiles and grout to crack or come loose and the tolerance depends on what type of tile is being installed. Note it gives the allowable deflection based on a fractional span quantity so a larger denominator will yield less deflection.
How to fix floor deflection for ceramic tile. Whether you are installing stone or ceramic tile over floors and walls there s one thing to consider. In addition explore hundreds of other calculators addressing math finance fitness health and more. This calculator is designed to work with dimensional lumber only.
For instance ceramic tile can withstand more deflection than natural stone. Deflection of l 360 for ceramic tile and l 720 for natural stone tiles. After choosing the type of floor tile you want to install the second step in the install process is figuring out how much of it you ll need. All floors deflect or move to some extent but if.
It is for this reason that recommendations for floor rigidity are not based on deflection measurements but on empirically established methods found to work over normal code construction. If that same joist had gypsum ceiling l 240 the allowable deflection is 0 6. It can also account for the gap or overlap between tiles.