supporting first floor in solid stone walled house

[g]

Hi,

We are trying to figure out how to support an upper-level floor without having to dig into the solid stone walls of the house. One suggestion we have is putting up something similar to a stud partition against the wall (then the floor joists can rest on the headers of these "partitions"). But this leaves some questions over the details of such an approach. Do the studs have to be fixed to the wall itself as well (and what would be the best way to fix to stone walls)? Does one usually leave a gap between the studs and the wall (seeing as the walls are external ones)? Do we have to separate the studs from the wall with damp proof membrane? Are there other possible methods?

Any tips will be appreciated!

Gina

[IMM]

Use wall plates. This a basically a heavy plank bolted to the stone walls. The floor hangs off this by using joist hangers screwed to it. Use TJI "I" beams, not solid timber joists as no shrinking, are perfectly straight and are very light.

[Christian McArdle]

How thick would a TJI "I" beam joist be to span exactly 4m with a standard domestic loading?

Christian.

[IMM]

No one mentioned supporting mid-web.

[BigWallop]

This may be of some help: