Floor Joists in Attic

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A couple things.

1. Is there blocking in between the floor joists? if not, add some. it will help stiffen up the floor quite a bit.

2. What do you currently have for a floor? You may want to think about using T&G Plywood sub flooring and then carpet over that. It will add a bit of weight but it should stiffen things up a lot. Make sure you lay the plywood so the length runs with the floor joists.

As for the 2x6’s if the actual dimensions are 2" by 6" then they will be almost as strong as a current day 2x8.
Also, there might be 1 or 2 floor joists that are cracked at a knot which is causing bouncing in a large section. Half of my living room used to bounce a bit when we moved in. Turned out I had 2 floor joists that had cracked on some knots and it affected the floor covering about 6 joists. I cut some 3/4" plywood into strips and screwed one to each side of the cracked floor joists and my floor is stiff as can be.

Molson
 
There isn't blocking...I would assume. I will take up the old subfloor and add some though. The subfloor now is true subfloor, but it is older. I'm guessing it has to be at least a 1/2 " to 5/8" thick. It is in 4x8 sheets. Any suggestions then for a beam?
 
many places that sell beams, either LVL or I Beams usually have charts and guides that will tell you exactly how big a beam needs to be.

You may also want to give a call to your local building permit dept. Yes, you will probably have to buy a building permit then, and have it inspected but for something like this, that's a good thing. Just think about what might happen if you put the beam in the wrong place or don't support it properly and the second floor collapses after you move in all the furniture. Or in the future when your then 3 year old is using the bed as a trampoline. Guess what... People could get hurt and your home owners Insurance might not and probably won't give you any cash to rebuild.
 
The big issue i have with the building inspector, is that the area (attic) was already assessed and coded as finished. The previous owner used the space as a bedroom and supposedly there was a ton of crap in the space...so I'm assuming a fair amount of weight. I have jumped up and down and it is springy, but no cracks or anything below....just some deflection. I already put a beam in one area of another room (same issue just a shorter span for the beam), and it totally solved the problem. I know a beam will do the trick in this space as well, but I don't want to put a huge 12" beam in the area if I can get around it.
 
Steel is the only way to get by with a beam closer to the ceiling. No wood product, engineered or otherwise is going to span that far without deflection unless you go to 12" or thereabout.
 
I am still with Tom on this one, Steel I beam all the way. One note the 2x's used to support the beam have also got to be supported under the floor to concrete footing.
 
I think I'm going with 2 lvl's. It will be much cheaper this way and not near as heavy. My one end of the beam will be supported by the foundation wall. As for the other end....I checked in the basement and the position of the support will about about 3 ft. away from the main beam that supports the majority of my house. Will this be close enough to give support?

You mentioned using supports with wood. Is there a different method with using steel?
 
It would also sit on a floor joist. (My floor has several layers of hardwood, so it is needless to say very sturdy).
 
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