We just bought a new kitchen table. With chairs, the table weighs approximately 450 kg (1166 pounds)
Our kitchen is approximately 19 feet X 11 feet. We are living in a rented house in the Netherlands, and do not know the flooring specifications.
Is our floor (based on standard building practices for residential property) strong enough to support the table?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Standard procedure in the US is a floor framework of 2"xY" lumber spaced
12", 16" or 24" apart. Where Y should be no less than 6". Floor joists over open space (crawlspace, basement), is usually at least 2"x12" or 2"x16". If that is how it is done in your area, you should be fine.If you can get under the floor, measure the distance between joists and the width and height of the lumber.
But then, if the floor is sitting on a concrete slab, go for it.
Also, try to figure out how much all your appliances weigh. If that table takes up roughly the same space, I wouldn't worry about the weight.
Hmmmmm . Never heard of a "2x16". Most all floor joists are 2x10 actually. Unless you get into older stuff where they are 2x8
Granted 2x16 is rather uncommon to use but is available. Do a search and you'll find plenty of lumber cutters that offer the size.
16" wood I-beams are fairly common.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but you are full of shit. 2x16s might be available, sure - ANYTHING custom cut is available. It is not common, it is in fact so rare as to be virtually nonexistent. Pick up the phone and call any building supply house, lumberyard, anywhere a contractor would get lumber and ask for a 2x16. Don't hold the phone too close to your ear as the loud laughter may damage your hearing.
Extremely deep floor joists are not used in residential construction for a bunch of reasons. That includes extremely deep I-joists. BTW, I-beams are made of steel.
To the OP: I am not sure of the design standards in the Netherlands, but that doesn't enter into the picture because "a rented house" in Holland could be 5 years old or 500. To attempt to give you a rough idea of what a typically constructed modern floor is designed to hold, a first floor is designed with a 40 pound per square foot live load and either a 10 or 15 pound per square foot dead load. The dead load is the weight of the structure (floor) itself, and the live load is the stuff you put inside the house on that floor (furniture, people).
If your table has six chairs (more missing information), and figuring a conservative 200 pounds per person load, that would bring the total live load to roughly 2400 pounds. If the table and chairs cover an area of 2400/40 or 60 square feet, then you are at close to the design limit for that floor. Be aware that the design limit is not the same as the ultimate strength of the floor, and that there is a factor of safety figured into the design limit.
Since 60 square feet is not unlikely for the floor area of an occupied dining room set, I would imagine that the floor would not be a problem, but as a test, have people occupy all of the chairs and have someone walk around the table with a bouncing step. If the glasses on the table rattle a lot that's an indication that the floor is too bouncy and you are approaching a design or functional limit of the floor.
If the floor is framed with solid sawn lumber you could visit the Canadian Wood Council's web site and check out their SpanCalc (or whatever they call it) that provides allowable span information based on your input criteria. You would need to know the depth of the floor joists, and that can be determined by counting the number of stair risers running up to the second floor (assuming the dining room is on the first floor) and multiplying by the average riser height, and then subtracting the height of the first floor (ceiling to finished floor)
- then subtract roughly 2 or 3 inches to account for the thicknesses of the ceiling and floor. The net result should put you in the close neighborhood of the joist depth.
If any of that didn't make sense to you, let me know.
R
bullis, you're so full of shit! 2x8 is common over open space. You can span
14' with it.Is there any forum you haven't been slapped around in?
That is true. With a steel I-beam underneath for added support. A common practice used through the 70's in the USA.
The OP did not mention if the floor in question was over open space or not. Nor the age of his house. I can only assume that the house has no basement and most likely is just built over existing ground. What will make the difference for the weight mentioned is the spacing of the beams. Not their dimensions.
Do note, that at the very beginning of my reply I did state that the minimum dimensions should be a 2x6.
But obviously, you have a reading and comprehension disorder.
The wood species commonly used in framing don't have quite that span even in a Select Structural grade. Typically framing lumber is #2, sometimes #1, and for a large part of the US either Doug Fir or Hem Fir, and those can span roughly 12 1/2 or a bit more.
There's no arguing, though, that the first reply the OP got in this thread is worthless advice.
R
Sheesh. Please, just STFU - you have no idea what you're talking about. It's total nonsense to talk about structural capacity and ignore joist dimensions. Given the wood species and grade, the allowable span is determined by joist dimensions AND spacing.
The OP is asking for information, not disinformation, you twit.
R
why don't you bitch and whine to the OP and demand that he give more useful information? Like, when exactly was his house built, the builder's name and address, the building code used at the time of build, how many nails were used, and if it was built on a slab, thickness and type of cement/concrete, or if it was built over ground directly, or includes a basement and so on.
Then maybe a true expert in the field of structural engineering can answer the man's question properly.
"You twit"? Is that the best you can come up with?
What surprises me is that everyone who has replied in this thread has been whining about my alleged wrong information, while not once offering constructive advice to the OP directly.
I do research. One of the things I have been researching, for my own knowledge, is spanning and load charts.
With what people are putting in houses today, I would certainly not recommend anything less than a 2x10 for the main floor.
What about your 2x16's?
You do research? On what?
cheers Bob
Different ways to load a crack pipe.
Don't be tough on the guy, Bob - he's watched a _ton_ of videos showing homes under construction. That obviously outweighs your decades of engineering experience. ;)
R
I'm sure you could find SOMEBODY that could cut you some balsa 4x20's also if you looked hard enough.
Hi Richard, It all depends on many things here. The information given from the person interested in finding out if his span was adequate for load was not very specific. Many engineers use differing widths and lengths also. I have many engineers and "plan people-architects" draw up 2x6 in the floor joist system. They just need more supports. In the question asked we have 2 measures.......11 and 19 Is that wide or long? How is it spanned.....via the 11 ft. or 19 ft. Both spans will handle nominal lumber and also both spans could be supported by underfloor posting and or girders Many variables in this loose question so if the fellow gave more info a better answer could be resolved. We also do not know about "bearing soil" conditions either. Some peoples construction may be considered "standard" building practice but zoning comes into play also. Is it earthquake area, is it a wetland, bog, freeze?
I know the fellow was just asking a simple question.
Like asking a Dr. on the phone.....say Dr. I have a headache....you think I have a tumor?
So, with more pieces of the puzzle given, then we may be able to see the picture. John
What surprises me is that everyone who has replied in this thread has been whining about my alleged wrong information, while not once offering constructive advice to the OP directly.
I do research. One of the things I have been researching, for my own knowledge, is spanning and load charts.
With what people are putting in houses today, I would certainly not recommend anything less than a 2x10 for the main floor.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.