Finishing the subfloor

Sunday, April 3:  I managed to get the last of the joists installed.  Before I nailed the final blocking between the bridge and the last joist, I coaxed my helpful son, Chris, into coming over late in the day to lift some of the plywood decking up through the slot – much easier than carrying the sheets up the twisting staircase.

But how, exactly, did I hang all these joists by myself?  It's really a two-person job.  However, with a little thought and patience, it can be done. 

This was my method:

Step 1: Make sure Anne nor anyone else is in the vicinity. Prop the left end of joist into a hanger and prop the right end up onto a stepladder.

Step 2: Climb the stepladder and lift the right end of the joist up and over the beam. Rest it on the beam. Why doesn't it fall?  Because I cut each one for a very snug fit – about 1/16" longer than the width across the room, with the intention of pounding them down into the hangers with a sledgehammer. Therefore, I could precariously rest the right end on the beam while I climbed down to take this photo.

Step 3:  Since the joists are slightly too long by design, you really need a person on each end so that you can pound each end straight down simultaneously.  However, by trial and error I found a one-man method. I temporarily nailed a short block (dark green) into the right-end hanger.  Then I went over to the left end and raised it so that the right end could "free fall" onto the block – but not all the way down the hanger.  This allowed for a shallow-enough angle on the left end that I could pound it down.

(Note: Though this "free fall" sounds dangerous, and would likely cause apoplexy around an OSHA inspector, this is my own house, I am not employing anyone, and no one is in the vicinity below were anything to accidentally plummet.)

Step 4:  Once I had both ends jammed between the wall beams, I removed the green block and started pounding each end down a little at a time.  (Shown above and below).





Step 5: After getting the joist pounded down and nailing the steel hangers securely on each end, I installed cross-blocking. This blocking serves several functions:  It stabilizes all the joists so that they don't wobble, making the entire subfloor one rigid structural unit. And it also gives support to the edges of the plywood joints on the upstairs floor (and to the drywall joints on the dining-room ceiling.)