What are joists?
Joists are the big, strong boards that builders lay horizontally to create a sturdy floor. They either rest on top of the foundation or on top of the first floor walls. When they rest on top of the first floor walls, the underside becomes the first floor ceiling and the top part become the second level’s floor. So the next time your builder says “We’ll just sister up the ceiling joists with an LVL header,” you can nod sagely and know that in layman’s terms he is planning to add support to the second floor while dazzling you with builder speak.
