Aug. 18, 2025
In the past, floor joists were often specified for economy and constructability, with 2- to 4-foot joist spacing, 20- to 30-foot span, shallow steel form deck, and a thin slab. That design approach led to bouncy floors compared to using wide-flange beams with thicker slabs, longer spans, and wider beam spacing. However, using today’s designs for high performance floors—with 8- to 10-foot spacing and 30+ foot spans—the vibration performance of floor joists is comparable to wide-flange beams and offers the other added benefits of steel joists.
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You can achieve even better vibration results than wide-flange beam floors with steel joists by utilizing deeper joists than your wide-flange beam design option. You may already have space to increase the joist depth as compared to your wide-flange beam design, or you may want to increase your joist depth to take advantage of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) integration. For more on that topic, see the MEP section of this article.
Finally, you can utilize flush-frame connections to take the vibration performance of a steel joist to the next level by bringing the steel deck into direct contact with the wide-flange girder. This allows the girder to act compositely with the slab for vibration characteristics and it engages the adjacent bay. This significantly increases the joist effective panel weight, thereby improving system damping.
Achieve up to 35% weight savings using steel joists as compared to wide-flange beams. Whether using composite or non-composite members, steel joists provide serious cost-saving opportunities in floors without sacrificing performance.
The average recycled content in steel joists across the six fabrication facilities of New Millennium is 80%, thanks in large part to Steel Dynamics, our parent company, and its Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) lower-carbon emitting steel making process. Additionally, steel joist floor systems can save up to 35% in steel usage as compared to wide-flange beam floor systems. As our Sustainability Practices outline in more detail, the option to use less carbon intensive products allows for an opportunity to reduce the overall greenhouse gas emissions associated with your building, helping achieve goals to decarbonize.
Specifying professionals utilize steel joists in steel-framed buildings across the country because they’re economical, versatile, and easy to specify utilizing industry standards. New Millennium has published a set of standard flush-frame connections which allows specifying professionals to easily specify flush-frame connections for floor joists. These connections are simple and predetermined based on the joist reaction and wide-flange girder sizes, simplifying specification and coordination amongst the steel design and fabrication team. The tried-and-true ease of specifying steel joists, combined with the simple New Millennium standard flush-frame connections, make a win-win option for your next steel-framed floor system design.
Not only are steel joists simple to specify, but they also provide more flexibility in optimizing the design of your floor system as compared to wide-flange beams. The open-web system of a steel joist, and its inherently custom design, enables an array of load, span, and depth options—allowing you to investigate weight and performance modifications that aren’t as plentiful with wide-flange beams. With as little information as column spacing, clear height requirements, and loading, the sales specialists at New Millennium can assist you in finding the right solution for your project.
Additionally, the Steel Joist Institute Floor Bay Comparison Tool is a free resource that assists specifying professionals in comparing many variations of wide-flange and steel joist floor bays, and includes parameters such as cost of material, cost of installation, weight of framing, floor vibration, and floor depth.
Unlike traditional joist seats, which are welded, flush-frame connections are bolted, thus reducing erection and inspection time.
If panelizing multiple members at a time during erection, extended-tab flush-frame connections on joists are preferred by erectors because the joists can be placed without having to be rotated into place, and handling joists with open-web systems are easier than wide-flange beams.
Additionally, light MEP systems are easy to hang from joists and route through webs, as compared to needing to cut holes or use beam clamps on wide-flange members. Joist bridging does add time to install as compared to wide-flange beams. However, it’s insignificant when considering the installation as a whole and in context with the other steel joist benefits. Use the SJI Floor Bay Comparison Tool, input your costs to install bridging, and see for yourself today!
New Millennium’s published standard flush-frame connections locate the flush-frame joist working-point directly over the center line of the wide-flange girder, making best use of system strengths. Since steel joists are so efficient at supporting in-plane flexural loads, New Millennium designs the joist components—including the joist end plate for shear and moment—and by relying on the moment resistive bolt group, makes the connection an integral part of the joist. This design ensures that the joist reaction aligns directly over the wide-flange girder’s center line, effectively eliminating any torsion effects on the girder.
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Many designers indicate a standard 18- to 24-inch MEP clear-height allowance beneath a wide-flange floor system. If a portion of this allowance is utilized in increasing the joist depth—which is not an option with wide-flange beams—it will provide substantial increases in floor stiffness, weight savings, and cost savings, plus will provide significant pass-through space in the steel joist. Additionally, steel joists with flush-frame connections eliminate the need for standard joist seats. These options reduce the overall story height of your building and streamline the integration of MEP systems.
Steel joist camber is built into the standard manufacturing process. Therefore, it’s either no additional cost (standard SJI camber) or very little additional cost (non-standard camber) compared to cambering wide-flange beams. Additionally, steel joist camber is consistent and repeatable, providing a flat finished floor across the span of the joist. By comparison, wide-flange beams are relatively expensive to camber and tend to have substantial variance in the resulting camber magnitudes.
There are occasions where wide-flange beams are specified with a span/depth ratio greater than 24, the maximum for standard steel joists. Thus, in contemplating a comparison of steel joists to the wide-flange systems, one may think the floor depth would have to increase. This is not the case with SJI CJ-Series joists, whose composite action allows a span/depth ratio up to 30. This provides an option for an apples-to-apples comparison of steel floor systems of the same depth, if routing MEP through the open-web system of deeper steel joists isn’t an option.
Turn to us as your guide to steel floor systems with better performance at less weight, reduced costs, and a lower carbon footprint, and make the move to steel floor joists with Flush-Frame Connections from New Millennium.
Stainless steel is straightforward to clean and keep clean; this is why it is used in commercial kitchens for food preparation. When used in industrial flooring applications, you can easily clean any spillages or dirt from the flooring. Using microfiber cloths or mops can help you to keep the floor clean, along with gentle detergents or soap mixed with water, thus reducing the chance of dirt accumulation or bacteria growth.
One of the best benefits of choosing stainless steel flooring is that it is available in a range of finishes to enhance its modern and attractive appearance. You can choose a finish that meets your standards and fits in well with your current decor to enhance the space it is in, be it a polished finish, mill-finished or brushed finish, to name a few. On top of this, stainless steel is scratch resistant due to its multi-directional polishing marks meaning scratches are hidden, helping to maintain its appearance for longer. And if you do notice scratches, you can use stainless steel polish to revive its lustre and remove surface scratches.
Modern technology allows for stainless steel to be fabricated in various ways allowing for easier installation and lower maintenance costs. Stainless steel can be welded, fabricated, machined, cut and formed much like regular steel. This allows for easier fabrication and a quicker installation time. On top of this, one of the benefits of choosing stainless steel flooring is relatively easy maintenance, meaning it needs very little care upon installation.
It is easy to clean, though does require regular cleaning to ensure it is kept in good condition, with inspections to ensure no damage has been sustained. Its durability means you can be confident of getting longevity from your flooring with fewer repairs and longer times between replacements, making it a low-cost flooring option for any industry.
Stainless steel doesn't damage easily, meaning you can invest in this product as a long-lasting solution for both temporary and permanent flooring options. When cared for properly, stainless steel flooring should not rust and can last the lifespan of a project or longer. It might seem like a costly choice to start with, but stainless steel is the least expensive material option when evaluated over several years.
The life cycle of stainless steel can be infinite upon recycling opportunities, and there are instances in history where this material has been used for centuries. However, a life span of 20 years prior to being recycled can provide you with a longer-lasting solution.
As it doesn’t damage easily, when you invest in steel for flooring you can retain its resale value, giving you a portion of the flooring cost back should you resell it. This return on investment isn't as high as other materials, which can become damaged and unusable over time. If you're looking for a durable option that is a good investment, stainless steel flooring can provide you with a good ROI over time.
As mentioned in the above points, stainless steel is incredibly durable, with an average life span of 20 years spent on care and its application. This means when it comes to environmentally friendly options, it is one of the best sustainable flooring options around. On top of this, stainless steel is 100% recyclable as the same product, so even when you no longer have use for it within your company, you can have it recycled and repurposed, which further reinforces sustainable factors and eco-friendly benefits.
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