So I’m starting to prep a room to become a library for a client. She plans to have bookcases essentially all the way around the room. They’ll be custom-made and attached to the walls, but should I plan to sister new floor joists under the cabinets? This house was built 20 years ago by a contractor for himself, so he used select structural 2 x 12’s for joists. There is a beam under this room, so the longest joist spans in the space are only 10 1/2′. According to code, this is almost half the span allowable for ss 2 x12’s 16 on center. Also, I’ll be installing hardwood flooring in this room. I’ve always installed it perpendicular to the joists, but is 3/4″ T & G subflooring rigid enough to run it parallel to the joists? It’s 3/4″ ply subflooring. Thanks for any input.
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You won't need to double the joists but you will need to be sure there is adequate structure under all the walls, esp the ones that run parallel to the joists. The weight of the books will mostly be concentrated with in a foot or so of your girders. It's a lot of weight though.
Should be fine to run the oak parallal to the joists, not ideal, but it won't be a problem so long as it's well secured to the 3/4" plywood subfloor.
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