1. Inset Floor Joist Method for Constructing a Zero-
Step Entrance on Houses with Basements
Eleanor Smith, Concrete Change
This presentation was supported in part with a grant provided by National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) through the RERC on Universal Design and the Built Environment (Grant # H133E990005). The opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of NIDRR.
Concrete Change encourages viewers to disseminate the information in this presentation, provided that it is shown in its entirety and without changes, deletions or additions.
© Concrete Change 2012

2. In all construction, the wood flooring system needs to be protected from contact with soil to prevent damage from moisture, termites, etc. To accomplish this in houses with basements or crawl spaces, the conventional method is to raise the finished floor level inches above grade – or more – on all sides of the house. As with the house in the photo above, this makes it difficult to grade the lot for a zero-step entrance with a slope that is maximum 1:12 in steepness and results in entrances high above grade.
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© Concrete Change, 2012

3. There are inexpensive, practical solutions to this problem
There are inexpensive, practical solutions to this problem. For a house on a basement or crawl space, how do we achieve a zero-step entrance
that works similar to a slab-on-grade entrance? One approach is to modify the foundation wall by setting the floor joists in a notch in the foundation.
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© Concrete Change, 2012

4. Conventional method: All of the framing on top of the foundation..
Alternative method: Set the floor joists into a notch at the top of the foundation.
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5. Inset Floor Joist method in mid-process.
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6. This house and the those in the next slide appear to be built on slabs, but in fact have basements. In each, the builders used the inset floor joist method.
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7. These houses built over basements are among the 3,700 built to date
as a result of an ordinance passed
in Bolingbrook IL in 2003 requiring
that all new houses be constructed
with basic access.
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© Concrete Change, 2012

8. Typical Cost of Inset Floor Joist Method above the cost of regular flooring system:
$250
Cost confirmed by Dan Buonamici, Building Commissioner,
City of Bolingbrook IL, based on 3,700 houses constructed as of 2012.) )
© Concrete Change 2012
© Concrete Change, 2012