4x6 span table

[DougWhitney]

I am building a beach house on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.  The lumber available is exotic hardwood with an actual measurement of 4" x 6". Will floor joists span 12' on 16" centers with less than 1/2" deflection?
 

[Don_P]

If it is decent, yes.

[ChugiakTinkerer]

Welcome to the forum Doug!

Without knowing the species and mechanical properties it's a bit of a guess as to whether the 4x6 on that spacing will meet your needs.  If it is one of the species tested in this analysis, you're probably good to go:
https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplrn/fplrn242.pdf

There is a wonderful beam calculator that Don_P has put up on the web at http://www.timbertoolbox.com/Calcs/beamcalc.htm
If you plug in some appropriate numbers in that calculator you'll discover that a true 4x6 of any given species and grade is a little stronger than a single 2x10, which measures 1.5 x 9.25.  The 4x6 is a little more flexible though, so will result in slightly more deflection than a 2x10.  If a 2x10 works in a particular span then your 4x6 will too, although may be a little bouncy if it's close to the max span in the table.