Floor bearers are structural components used in building construction to support the loads from floor joists across large spans.
Understanding Floor Bearers
Bearers play a crucial role in supporting floor structures, acting as intermediate supports that enable floor joists to cover wider distances than they could independently. This structural element is essential for creating stable and economical floor systems in various building configurations.
Function and Location
Based on their function and location within a building:
- Function: Bearers are designed to carry the loads from the floor joists across large spans. This means the weight from the floor covering, furniture, occupants, and the joists themselves is transferred to the bearers.
- Upper Storeys: In upper levels of a building, especially if the rooms underneath are large, the floor joists might not be long or strong enough to span the entire width economically. In such cases, a bearer is introduced to offer an intermediate support, effectively reducing the span required of the joists and allowing for more efficient construction.
- Lower Storeys: On the ground or lower levels of a building, particularly in constructions using a subfloor system (like stump foundations), the bearer serves by spanning between the stumps. This transfers the floor load from the joists, through the bearers, down to the stumps and into the ground.
In essence, bearers are key load-bearing beams that provide support to joists, allowing for larger room sizes and more flexible floor layouts by breaking up long spans into shorter, manageable sections for the joists.
