Just saw this on my Nextdoor App… what the hell is this guy building? Some kind of floor structure with 2X2 “joists”?
Walking barefoot on a slab feels like ass and wears away at your joints and feet. Add some flat 2x4 sleepers and sheathing on top of that makes it feel more like a wood floor with better shock absorption, which is the practical benefit anyways. I think they are trying to achieve something similar with this manufactured system
I agree with Robert. I believe the levelers are what you see on both sides of his left foot.
This is really interesting. I’ve run into this a few times. One place was in a server room where the floor was raised to run copious amounts of cabling and even airflow.
Another was a simpler system, but inside a dance studio to have a “sprung floor”.
2x2s can support people?
1 Xs could support people if you have enough bracing underneath and decking/flooring distributing the weight.
I guess the engineering is called a “Pedestal Flooring System”. Here’s an example for a product used for decking. Home Depot now stocks a range called EuroTec too.
I have seen this done with sleepers to create a wood floor feel and sound atop concrete. The spacing is usually tighter and (in Florida) you need a vapor barrier on the slab or it turns out terrible.
I get sleepers but this is not those… they are elevated and not sitting on the slab. Spindly little pieces of lumber with no supports are not going to hold a typical floor load. What @rmeier2 posted is close but at least that has some support “posts”. The floor in my pic is going to break the first time aunt Betsy sets foot on it.
He’s a " Handsome young man carpenter installing a wood floor outdoor terrace in new house"
Which answers the question, what is he building. A Terrace. Those blocks look similar to tuff blocks, probably just a knock-off.
That’s hilarious!! You actually just beat me to it. I also found him on iStock. Well done!
I must say though, he may be fake but the flooring system looks legit. I don’t think anyone would go to that trouble just for a photo shoot? Maybe I’m wrong. Either way, I don’t think this is a system used in the US.
Yeah, he’s probably just a pretty boy they brought in. The real carpenters are unshaven, smell like old cigarettes and have untreated alcoholism.
I searched a little on that photographer and his name and many of his images are European. The saw, the cord reel, etc. all look non-USA to me too.
Oh and what does a carpenter need with lineman pliers? Why does his t-shirt look like it’s freshly pressed? No sandwich stains? Who wears gloves doing a job like this(probably has lotioned sissy hands) and he’s got the board upside down, why is he measuring it anyway? Didn’t he buy dimensional lumber that was all the same size?
Same here. Often used as an HVAC plenum and a cavity for cabling etc. This is pretty much how all large server/data rooms are configured but also whole offices. I have never seen this in residential. Looks like a great place for termites to go crazy undetected.
I inspected a “plenum house” once where the plenum was concrete and about 6" of space under the walking floor. Neat enough design but I don’t think anyone envisioned rodents getting in. The entire house stunk like rat crap and every register opening I looked through, the floor was covered. Not sure what ever happened but my buyer opted out.
Some of the pics posted somewhat clear up the situation. What was getting me was the lack of any support for the 2X2s. I guess he just hasn’t installed them yet… although he is starting to put down the decking, so???
I think these are the supports.
I understand up north that crawlspace plenums are somewhat common. They heat the entire (insulated) crawl, and heat passively flows through floor openings.
There are so many options which keeps us on our toes.
That particular job is outside. One of the pics shows a tree and a hillside