247

PLANK AND LAMINATED FLOORS AND ROOFS

General Design Information

Planks laid flat or pieces of dimension lumber set on edge and nailed to each other
provide economical floor and roof decks capable of supporting substantial loads. When used
as roof decks such construction has the added advantage of providing good insulation against
heat and cold.
Where planks are laid flat they should be tongued and grooved or grooved for spline.
Planks thicker than 4 inches nominal should have double tongues and grooves. Where end
joints occur between supports, end matching is recommended.
Nailing of Laminated Decks
Where laminated decks are used, nailing of the individual pieces to each other is an
important factor. Nails should be long enough to penetrate two laminations and approximately
one-half the thickness of the third. Nails should be driven near the upper and lower edges
and spaced approximately 18 inches on centers. To avdid splitting, nails in one lamination
should be staggered with those in the adjacent lamination.
Plank and laminated floor and roof decks should be supported on members of sufficient
size t o carry the design loads and should be securely nailed or otherwise fastened t o such
members. When used as a floor in a building with masonry walls it is good practice t o provide a
space of about one inch between the decking and masonry to allow for possible expansion of the
wood through accidental wetting. This space should be covered by moulding, or equivalent,
attached t o the masonry.

Net Sizes of Lumber

Lumber i s customarily specified in terms of nominal sizes. Computations used i n
design should be based on the net dimensions, or actual sizes.
Design Procedures
Plank and laminated floor and roof decks are usually designed to withstand uniform
loading. From the standpoint of bending strength, it is customary to design the decks using
the following flexure formula (see page 29 for notdtions)

From the standpoint of deflection, the arrangement of pieces has bearing on the stiffness of the deck and deflection formulas are adjusted to reflect this arrangement. Various
arrangements with appropriate deflection formulas are a s follows (see page 29 for notations):

248
PLANK AND LAMINATED FLOORS AND ROOFS

Type I: Simple Span

Planks or laminations are arranged on a simple span with bearing on two
supports as shown in Figure 16. For this arrangement the following deflection formula
i s used:

When converted.

A=

4
22.5wL
E1

When the defl :tion limit is 1/240 or L/20.

L -_
20

4
22.5wL
E1

3
E1 = 45OwL

When the deflection limit is I 1 1 8 0 or L/15.

4
-L - - 22.5wL
15
E1

or,
E1 = 337.5wL

ll

r-

I
1

F i g u r e 16. Type I , S i m p l e Span D e c k i n g

n,
I

! I
I

249
PLANK AND LAMINATED FLOORS AND ROOFS

Type II: Two-span Continuous

Planks or laminations are arranged to be continuous over two spans as illustrated in Figure 17. For this arrangement, the following deflection formula i s
appropriate.

A = - wc3

185EI

When converted,
9.34wL4
E1

When the deflection limit is 11240

-L=
20

or

L/20,

9.34wL4
E1

or,
E1 = 186.8wL3

When the deflection limit i s I l l 8 0 or L/15,

- L_ - 9.34wL4
15
E1

or,

Figure

E1 = 140.1wL3

1 7 . T y p e I I , Two-Span C o n t i n u o u s D e c k i n g

250
PLANK AND LAMINATED FLOORS AND ROOFS

Type

111:

Combination of Simple and Two-Span Continuous

Except Cor alternate pieces in the end spans, all planks or laminations are
continuous over two spans. End joints are over intermediate supports and are staggered in adjacent lines on deck pieces as shown in Figure 18. For this arrangement, the
following formula may be used to calculate deflection:

A = - wP3

llOEI

When converted,

A =

4
15.71wL
E1

When the deflection limit is I1240 or L/20.

-L=

20

15.71wL
E1

E1 = 314.2wL

When the deflection limit is 1 /180 or L/15,

-L - - 15.71wL4
15
E1

or,
E1 = 235.6wL

ll

7
F i g u r e 1 8 . T y p e 1 1 1 , C o m b i n a t i o n S i m p l e a n d Two-Span C o n t i n u o u s

PLANK AND LAMINATED FLOORS AND ROOFS

Type IV: Random Length

In this arrangement, random-length pieces may be used provided (a), end joints
in adjacent planks or laminations are at least 12 inches apart and (b), each plank or
lamination rests on at least one support. F o r this arrangement which is illustrated
in Figure 19, the following formula may be used:

When converted,

When the deflection limit is 1/240 or L/20,

or.

E1 = 345.6wL 3

When the deflection limit is I /180 or L/15,

E1 = 259.2wL3

5
I
I
I
I
I
I

F i g u r e 19. Type I V . Random Length Decking

252
PLANK AND LAMINATED FLOORS AND ROOFS
Use of Tabular Data
The tabular data are presented in simplified form for those spans and loads most
frequently encountered. The design load per square foot, w, is calculated on the basis of M =
wL2/8 which, as previously indicated, is appropriate for any of the four types of plank or
lamination arrangement. For values of F b intermediate to those listed, the design load per square
foot, w, may be determined by direct interpolation.
The minimum required modulus of elasticity design value, E, if deflection under load w is
limited t o P /240, is calculated for Types I11 and 1V arrangements of planks. For other
arrangements of planks or laminations, the required E value for P/240 may be determined by
direct interpolation using the appropriate constants listed for Types I or I1 arrangements. For a
deflection limit of P/lSO, the tabulated E value may be multiplied by 0.75.
The design load per square foot, w, includes the weight of the deck. This weight should be
subtracted from the tabulated load w t o determine the load which may be applied t o the floor or
roof.

253

PLANK AND LAMINATED FLOORS AND ROOFS-SAFE UNIFORM LOADS-TYPE Ill

See instructions for use of table on page 228.
Symbols used in the table are as follows:
= Unit design stress at extreme fiber in bending, psi
Fb
W
=
Load per square foot of deck, pounds
E
=
Minimum required modulus o f elasticity, 1000 psi, if deflection under load w is
limited to V/240, where E = 314.2 wL3/1 when A = P/240

Deck tt knesses are expressed as nominal but calculations are based on dressed sizes (see pages 25-27).

Thickness

Fb
1200
-

900

2"
3"
2"
3"
2"
3"
4"

I"
4"
3"
4"

13'- 0 '

15'-

0'

E
w

E
w

E
w

E
Y

E
w
E
w

E
Y

E
w
E
w

4"

4"

E
E
w

E
w

6"

3"

4"
6"

14- 0 ,

3"

3"

12'. 0 '

4"
6"

E
E
w

"
E

4"

6''

E
E

75
1506
208
904
55
1755
153
1055
42
2000
117
1205
230
863
92
1349
182
972
75
1508
147
1077
62
1660
122
1190
52
1807
102
1292
252
822
44
1944
87
1401
215
892
75
1508
185
959
65
1608
161
1026

1003

1112

1946
170
1173

2169
188
1297

16'- 0 '

t
I

17'-0'

18'- 0 ,

6"

w
E

8"

6"
8"
6"
8"

E
w

E
w

E
w

E
w

1300

73
2329
204
1407
56
2667
156
1606
306
1148

._

123
1803
24 2
1293
100
2011
196
1436
83
2222
163
1580

+=
18;;
135
2016

2034
149

2224

1500

79
2520
220
1518
61
2905
169
1740
330
1238

__ __
201

1400

100
108
2170
2009
100
278
1303
1208
-

133
1950
261
1394
108
2172
211
1546
90
2382
175
1707

239

255

383
144
283

303

117

125

107

238

263

1669

1850

..

3048
136
2190
335
1390

3269
14 5
2335
358
1485

2172
266
1378

117
2353
289
1497

126
2534
308
1596

94
2325
232
1478

102
2523
252
1605

109
2696
269
1714

179

83
2491
204
1578
355
1198
181
1679
314
1271

90
2701
221
1709
384
1296
196
1818
340
1376

96
2887
236
1825
411
1387
209
1919
364
1474

161
1773
281
1351

175
1927
303
1456

187
2059
325
1562

198

77
2311
189
1462
329
1110
167
1549
291
1178

112
1233
194
932

149
1641
260
1250

239
1149

110

98
1126
271
1869
75
3572
207
2131
407
1527

3509
306
2111
84
4000
234
2409
459
1722

- -

123
3924
341
2352
94
4476
261
2687
511
1917

__ __ 164
2404
322
1720
133
2675
261
1913

92
3197
181
2292
447
1459

185
2712
363
1939
150
3017
294
2154
124
3319
243
2370

206
1020
404
2158
167
3358
327
2396
138
3694
270
2634

__ __ __
104
3614
204
2583
504
1645

116
4031
227
2875
561
I831

89
3932
174
2801
429
1780

99
4374
194
3121
478
1983

150
3016
370
1917

167
3358
412
2135

__ - 79
3490
154
2479
381
1580

58
1741
142
1098
246
830
126
1169
218
882
216
1038

__
108

87
2152
215
1370

167
3355
464
2016

64
2828
125
2013
309
1282

1.50
3013
417
1811

2944
215
2097

59
2607
116
1868
286
1186

100
2011
247
1280

2000

133
2672
369
1603

110

75
2606
147
1862
363
1185

1800

-_

-96

1600

70
2433
136
1722
336
1096

4"

133
2674
328
1699

130
3215
323
2058

116
2869
286
1822

102
3062
251
1941
437
1474
223
2069
387
1567

- -

128
3842
315
2436
549
1852
279
2588
486
1967

- ~

199
2191
345
1658

115
3452
283
2188
493
1663
251
2328
436
1765

145
3586
159
2288

224
2467
390
1874

__
249
2741
434
2086

254
r

PLANK AND LAMINATED FLOORS AND ROOFS-SAFE UNIFORM LOADS-TYPE IV

See instructions for use of table on page 228.
Symbols used in the table are as follows:
=
Unit design stress at extreme fiber in bending, psi
Fh
W
=
Load per square foot of deck, pounds
=
E
Minimum required modulus of elasticity, 1000 psi, if deflection under load w is
limited t o !2/240, where E = 345.6 wL3/I when A = Q/240

Deck thicknesses are expressed as nominal but calculations are based on dressed sizes (see pages 25-27).

Span

Thickness

z
+
1103

1221

1100.
_

1200

100
2210
278
1329

1400

1500

1600

1800

167
3691
464
2218

108
2387
300
1433

71
2562
204
1548

123
4316
341
2587

79
2772
220
1670

- __
56
2934
156
1767
306
1263

61
1196
169
1914
310
1362

123
1983
242
1422

113
2145
261
1513

94
4924
261
2956
511
2109

- __
1838
~

163

__

81
2444
162
1738

__

124
1503

137
1659

118
4061
270
2897

116
4434
227
3163
561
2014

- -

64
1111
125
2214
109
1410

100
2212
24 7
1408

108
2389
266
1516

174

90
2620
175
1878

59
2868
116
2055
286
1305

87
2373
215
1510

157

167
1694
127
2616

1206
__

336

227

108
2389
211
1701

75
2867
147
2048
363
1304

70
2676
116
1894

205

206
3122
404
2374

100
2212
196
1580

167
1694
412
2349

145
3955
359
2517

95
2571
213
1636

77
2542
189
1608
329
1221

83
2740
204
1736
355
1318
_.

167
1704
291
1296

181
1847
314
1398

149
1805
260
1375

99
4811
194
3415
478
2181

161
1950
281
1486

128
4226
115
2680
549
2037

340
175

364

416

279
2847
486
2164
249
3015
434
2295