A floor framing plan is the structural drawing that shows how a floor is held up — the joists, beams, bearing walls, and openings that carry the floor and pass its load down to the structure below. It is the single most important drawing for framing a floor, and this guide pulls together everything you need: what it contains, the decisions behind it, and how to produce one.
For a one-paragraph definition and the floor-plan comparison, see what is a floor framing plan. This page is the comprehensive hub.
Joists spanning the short dimension onto two bearing walls, labelled J1 @ 450
What a floor framing plan contains
- Joists — the repetitive members spanning the floor, shown with their direction and on-centre spacing (e.g.
J1 @ 400). - Beams and headers — larger members gathering joist loads and framing openings.
- Bearing walls — the walls the joists land on, emphasised (drawn in red in Framing Plan).
- Openings — stair wells, duct chases, and hatches, framed by headers.
- Grid and columns — on larger layouts, setting-out lines with columns at intersections.
- Annotations — dimensions, member callouts, schedule references, and a title block.
The visual conventions for all of these are in framing plan symbols.
The key decisions
A good floor framing plan comes down to a few choices, made in order:
1. Joist direction
Run joists across the shorter span so each reaches less distance and bears on the longer walls. Direction also determines which walls are load-bearing.
2. On-centre spacing
Closer spacing means a stiffer floor for a given span; wider spacing uses fewer members. Common metric spacings are 300, 400, 450, and 600 mm. The full treatment is in floor joist spacing explained.
3. Bearing walls
Confirm which walls carry the floor. They default to the walls at the ends of the joist run, but interior walls and beams can change the load path — see load-bearing walls in a floor framing plan.
4. Openings
Frame stairs and penetrations with headers, and place doors and windows in the walls.
How to draft and export one
The preliminary workflow, end to end, is covered step by step in how to draft a preliminary floor framing plan. In short: footprint → joist direction → spacing → bearing walls → openings → grid → annotate → export. For output, choose PDF/PNG for review or DXF for CAD — compared in framing plan file formats and detailed in exporting to DXF.
Floor framing plans by project type
- New builds — coordinate structure with the architectural layout from the start. See framing plans for residential new builds.
- Multi-storey — loads stack between levels. See second floor framing plans and two-storey homes.
- Additions — tie into existing structure. See framing plan for a home addition.
How it differs from a roof framing plan
A floor framing plan frames a level you walk on; a roof framing plan frames the roof above, often with rafters or trusses and a slope. The principles rhyme, but the members differ — see the roof framing plan guide.
Keep it preliminary
A floor framing plan you draft is a preliminary layout — a coordination and communication aid. A qualified engineer must review spans, size members, and confirm the structure for your loads and local code before construction.
Try it
Draft a floor framing plan in your browser — joists, beams, bearing walls, openings, dimensions — and export it. Open the framing studio to start, or begin from a template.