How to correctly calculate the board for floors. Calculation of building materials for a wooden floor - online calculator
A free calculator to calculate the number of boards and joists required to lay the floor in a room with a given area.
Calculator featuresThe calculator performs the following actions and calculations:
For preliminary calculations, just enter the length and width of the room in the special fields, and then click the “Calculate area” button:
Based on the data you entered, the script calculates the number and sizes of boards (taking into account the choice of the minimum standard width for laying end-to-end and of proportional thickness), as well as load-bearing joists.
Based on the calculations, the calculator draws an approximate diagram of the future floor installation. On the diagram, callouts indicate the length and width of the room, as well as the recommended gap between the joists, which are indicated by a dotted line.
If in the "Length" field you enter a number greater than in the "Width" field, the values will be swapped, taking into account the fact that the length is always the larger side of the room.
If you are not satisfied with the proposed automatically calculated parameters, you can always correct them using the input fields under the drawing:
Here it is possible to switch the direction of laying the floor to the transverse option, and there are also two sections with settings for the parameters of the boards and joists. To complete the calculations, you need to click the "Calculate" button under the input fields.
The results will open in a new browser window:
If you liked our script, you can install it on your website *.
In the downloaded archive you will find two files: board.html And board.js. The first contains full code calculation forms and built-in processing script. In the second, only the script is included in case of external connection.
If you do not plan to connect the script externally, you can simply copy the contents of board.html and paste it onto the desired page of your site. Otherwise, you will need to copy only the part of the code before the start of the script and uncomment the line for external connection:
P.S. Permission is granted to freely copy and quote this article, provided that an open active link to the source is indicated and the authorship of Ruslan Tertyshny is preserved.
Wooden structural materials, combining high strength, environmental friendliness and ease of installation, are widely used in modern low-rise construction for the construction of roofs, floors and power frame floor. Correctly calculated distance between the floor joists and interfloor beams is the key to strength and durability not only of the individual structural element, but also the entire structure as a whole.
What are floor joists?
Floor joists made of wooden beam of a certain, precisely calculated cross-section, they are force elements that absorb static loads from furniture and equipment installed on the floor and dynamic loads that arise when people move indoors. Floors on wooden logs have some features that make it possible to mitigate minor shortcomings of building structures:
- Uniform distribution of load on underlying building structures;
- Increasing the overall strength of the floor or ceiling;
- Improving sound insulation properties with the formation of an additional heat-insulating layer;
- Possibility of laying utilities while ensuring relatively high maintainability;
- Low complexity of installation, providing a flat surface for installing floors made of sheet or roll materials and flooring from natural wood valuable species.
Joists are made mainly from coniferous species wood, the resin content of which provides protection from moisture and a long service life. To install logs in difficult-to-use rooms, hardwood with high moisture resistance or larch products with a high content of natural resins are used.
Why is it necessary to calculate the distance between lags?
Like any other construction materials, wooden crafts have certain indicators of strength, wear resistance, service life and, of course, prices. When installing wooden floors along joists or interfloor beam floors You can also use thick logs laid at close distances from each other, obtaining the highest structural strength and spending a fairly significant amount. But using the required number of logs or beams with a cross-section corresponding to the expected load will allow you to obtain the necessary structural strength at a significantly lower cost.
IN panel house when the logs are laid on the surface reinforced concrete slab ceilings, their cross-section is chosen to be the minimum required for fastening floorboards or chipboards. Another thing is application wooden structures V frame structure, when the logs serve not only as the basis for the future floor, but also serve as a strength element of the frame connected to the wall supports.
Main calculation criteria- Thickness of the floorboard or board materials OSB, chipboard;
- Number of support points or distance between walls;
Having even such minimal data, you can correctly calculate the required cross-section of a wooden beam for making lags and the maximum step between lags.
Beam section
The cross-section of the wooden beam for installing the logs is selected depending on the distance between the supports and the required load-bearing capacity of the floor. When calculating the required cross-section of the joist, you should take the maximum load on the floor to be no more than 300 kg per m2.
A square or square beam is used as a log rectangular section, the wider side of which is located vertically. This way, the maximum rigidity of the log is obtained at minimum consumption wood, which reduces unproductive costs for flooring. In construction practice, the ratio of the beam width to its height is 1.5-2, which is optimal from the point of view of strength and cost. When using a standard 5 cm thick edged board as a log, its height with a gap between supports of 2 m should be from 10 to 15 cm. Standard sizes The log depending on the span is presented in the table:
Sometimes it is difficult for an individual developer to find standard timber, suitable for manufacturing logs of the required cross-section. The way out of this situation is quite simple. To ensure the required load-bearing capacity of the floor, you can install several standard boards 5-6 cm thick, increasing the height of the resulting beam by 1-2 cm relative to the standard one. Such a “layer cake”, even in the absence of fastening the boards together, completely replaces a solid beam of the required size. Similar results can be achieved if the boards are placed at regular intervals along the entire length of the supporting surface of the foundation.
The only thing to consider is frame house This method of load distribution is quite difficult to apply due to the connection of the joists to the racks wall structures, openings and distribution of insulation. In a frame house, floor joists are used as beams interfloor covering, therefore the minimum required cross-section must be increased taking into account the load from ceiling structures and insulation.
Step between joistsWhen making wooden floors, it is clearly visible how the distance between the joists, called the step, depends on the thickness, and the type of materials used. The thicker the board used as flooring, the greater the distance between the joists. More clearly about which step you need to choose when using different thicknesses boards, the table below shows.
As a rough draft flooring V modern construction very often slab construction materials are used instead of boards, which accordingly changes the calculation method. Chipboard (chipboard), cement bonded particle board(DSP), oriented strand board (OSB) and gypsum fiber boards (GFP) are successfully used as a base for coverings made of rolled materials or ceramic tiles, arranged according to wooden joists. In some cases, chipboard may be additionally coated with cement-based or gypsum-based materials. Considering the greater bending rigidity of chipboard and lower strength than boards, you should choose a pitch between lags of no more than 40 cm, and when using thicker chipboard (20-22 mm), increase the pitch between lags to a maximum of 60 cm.
When calculating the step between lags for a specific room, you can use the average table values, and if the distance between the last lags is smaller, then the strength of the floor in this place will only increase.
Consequences of errors in calculation
What happens if you choose the wrong section of the lag and the step between them? When installing floors concrete base the most important parameter will be the pitch between the lags, on which the behavior of the finishing coating depends. Chipboard board, fixed on logs installed with a larger gap than allowed, may sag or break, ceramic tile- crack, and the board - bend. In any case, the floors will require redoing.
More unpleasant consequences occur from errors in calculating the required number of logs used as interfloor coverings. If a larger number of joists or a larger cross-section is used than indicated in erroneous calculations, the strength of the entire structure is significantly reduced, which can lead to irreversible deformations and complete destruction of the floors.
Calculation methodsTo calculate the dimensions of the timber and the number of elements required for installation wooden floor on joists with rough coverings made of boards or chipboards, you can:
- Contact the design organization that professional level will calculate how many elements there should be for a covering made of boards or chipboards, and what size of timber should be used during construction;
- Use special average tables yourself, choosing which value is closer to the required one, leaning towards the larger side if there is no exact match between the real and tabulated sizes;
- Use computer programs and online calculators into which you enter enough a large number of parameters, and the program will accurately determine required dimensions timber and the distance through which it must be installed.
Wooden flooring is the simplest in terms of installation and inexpensive way to separate adjacent rooms of the house by height. The main elements of a wooden floor are beams (beams or boards) with boards sewn end-to-end on them.
If you decide to use this type floors in your home or compare its cost with another type, for example, with reinforced concrete, then the calculator below will help you with this. With its help, you can calculate the number of boards for the floor, as well as find out their cost.
The calculator calculates the number of boards for two types of floors:
- Type 1 - simple rectangular ceiling with or without opening;
- Type 2 - overlap of any shape.
The calculator has 3 fields: drawing, input data and result.
DrawingThis field displays a picture corresponding to the selected type of structure.
Initial dataBefore calculating, you must fill in the fields in this field.
First you need to choose how many sides of the skin you want to immediately take into account in the calculation. Because wooden floors They may have only one covering of boards that serve as the floor for the upper floor, or they may have two. And the lower cladding in this case is the ceiling for the lower floor. This is usually done for aesthetic reasons or if they want to place insulation between these two skins.
Type 1The length (L) and width (K) of the room are the dimensions of the room or the dimensions of the ceiling. Indicated from the inner edges of the walls (see figure).
The area of the openings (S) is the sum of all openings that fall within the area of the calculated overlap.
The length (A), width (B) and height (F) of the board are the dimensions of the board, where A and B determine the covering area, and F is the thickness of the floor.
Price for 1 m3 or 1 m2 - depending on how this lumber is sold, in that column you indicate the amount. For example, 1 m3 of boards costs 5,000 rubles, then you indicate this figure opposite the column “Price per 1 m3”.
Type 2The fundamental difference between type 1 and type 2 is that the area of the room is immediately indicated here, and not the lengths of the sides, as in the previous case.
In addition, in the calculation of type 2 floors, the “Stock” column appears, with which you can adjust the number of boards. Its appearance is due to the fact that when covering polygonal (complex) floors, a lot of scraps appear that are unsuitable for further use. Here it is advisable to indicate 5-10%.
ResultFloor area - the area of the room minus the openings.
The total number of boards is the required integer number of boards required for the flooring arrangement (cladding on one or both sides).
Boards in 1 m3 - the number of boards of a given section (BxF) in one cube. The length of the board (A) does not play any role in this case.
Volume and area of boards - required amount boards, expressed in cubic and square meters.
Cost per 1 m3 or 1 m2 - depending on what you indicated the price in, here you get the total cost of the boards.
To perform an accurate calculation of floor boards, a calculator created as online service, has been around for many years. With its help, you can calculate the amount of material that will be needed for the construction of logs and flooring.
The calculator is used to determine the volume of not only the floorboard, but also the material for the subfloor. As with the construction of other structures, work on creating high-quality floors requires determining the exact amount of fasteners and insulation, end and other parts.
Peculiarities online calculator A
You need to enter several parameters of the living space into the calculator Floor calculations using an online calculator are based on dimensions indicated in millimeters. To perform all operations you will need to clarify:
- floor length and width;
- length and thickness of the logs;
- width and thickness of boards;
- house parameters (width).
For each quantity there are certain designations, among which there are numbers and letters that reflect:
- thickness and width rough boards subfloor;
- the number of jumpers between the lags and the step between them;
- distance between boards.
You can find out exactly how many boards you need for the floor by using one of the offered floor calculator programs. You will need competent, high-quality drawings, in accordance with which the flooring is constructed and the ceiling is arranged.
When starting to select a material, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of their parameters. The most popular are boards whose thickness reaches 4 cm.
Despite the fact that many designers recommend using products whose this parameter is much higher, boards no thicker than 2 cm are often sufficient.
They are more flexible and durable, and thanks to the high-quality and competent processing of the boards, they are characterized by increased resistance to moisture and temperature changes.
Correctly carried out calculations will allow you to lay a strong screed It is these qualities that allow properly prepared materials to retain their original shape and avoid cracking, swelling and other damage and deformation.
When do you need a calculator? 
The program will even help you determine the optimal distance between the lags
Other data may also be required; specifying them will help the calculator determine the exact area of the room and select the most suitable parameters among the many existing proposals. wood materials, the program is able to correctly set the optimal distance between the lags and the components of the structure.
Using the program, the consumer receives specific data on the required quantity of not only lumber, but also insulation required for arranging and creating insulation under wooden flooring. Read more about construction calculators watch in this video:
Another feature of the program is the ability to indicate some options for the layout of the future floor, allowing you to save money and use it when carrying out construction work minimal amount wood and insulation.
To work with an online calculator, there is no need to contact specialists and designers. It is enough to use the Internet services, indicating the requested data.
Edged boards are in greatest demand in the lumber market. Their distinctive feature- four-sided processing and removal of edges with tree bark. The high demand for this type of building materials is explained by practicality, durability, environmental friendliness and ease of use.
The main areas of application of edged boards are construction and furniture production. In construction this material can be used for laying floors, ceilings, erecting walls and stairs. IN furniture production boards are used to create solid wood furniture.
Quick navigation through the article
Calculation- Calculate the surface area that needs to be covered (for example, 10*10=100 m²);
- Calculate the area of one board (for example, with board parameters of 20cm*5cm*2000 cm, the area of one board will be equal to 0.2m*2m=0.4m²);
- Divide the surface area by the area of one board (100 m²/0.4 m²=250 pieces).
To calculate the number of boards when purchasing in cubes, you must:
- Calculate the required number of boards (divide the surface area by the area of one board);
- Calculate the required cubic capacity by multiplying the parameters of the board by the required quantity (for example, you need 20 pieces of boards with a parameter of 20 cm * 5 cm * 2000 cm, which means the required volume is 20 * 0.2 * 0.05 * 2 = 0.4 m³). In this case, all values must be converted from centimeters to meters.
There are so many types of boards that differ in purpose and technical characteristics. Depending on the degree of humidity there are:
- Raw - boards natural humidity. Can be used in the construction of low-critical structures.
- Dry - industrially dried. Drying is carried out to avoid deformation of the board and prevent rotting.
Depending on the quality of the boards, the material is distinguished:
- Selected grade - used in the automotive industry and shipbuilding;
- First grade - in addition to shipbuilding and the automotive industry, it is used in construction and furniture production;
- Second grade - used in the same areas as first grade material;
- Third grade - production of furniture and packaging products;
- Fourth grade - used for the production of containers and packaging.
According to the type of cut, the boards are divided into:
- Radial - the cut passes in the middle of the trunk, at an angle of 90⁰, due to which the material has high strength and moisture resistance;
- Semi-radial - the cut is cut at an angle of 45⁰, the material is of an average price category;
- Tangential is the most economical type of cut; boards of this type are more susceptible to moisture. Possible deformation when drying.