floor joist support

[thehip]

I have a home built around 1930-35. it has 2x10 floor joists spaced 16" on center. They are 12 feet from foundation wall to center support beam running length of the house. The center beam sits atop 3 lally columns. My question is how much weight can this type of construction support? I am planning on getting a new dining room table and china cabinet and I need to know if the floor will support it. Dining room measures 12' x

16' Thanks for any info

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, I don't see any problem there.

[Don Phillipson]

Your municipal or county building permits officer ought to be able to tell you (at no charge) what the current building code requires. If you doubt your judgment whether your house meets the current code, you would have to pay for a structural survey.

[George E. Cawthon]

Doesn't sound like a problem. A structural standard for floor joists is 10 pounds per square foot dead load (means the house itself) and 40 pounds per square foot of live load (means the stuff you put in the house, not necessarily living things). Almost any wood of the dimension you stated would meet or exceed that standard. Don't know the size of your center beam but I would suspect that if the joists meet the regular standard, the beam would also. A dining room table and a china cabinet are rather light loads, compared to other furniture, e.g., 800 pound piano, 500 pounds of books in a 3 shelf, 4 foot long bookcase. Realize that the live load of that room could be

7700 pounds nearly 4 tons.

Don't worry.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

If it does not support that weight properly, the house should be condemned. All that weight can safely be put on one joist, let alone spread out over four or five of them.

[maradcliff]

Ummmmmmmmm.............. Is this table made out of solid steel or what?????

I had a 1200lb horse sneak into my kitchen door one day, and that floor was made of 2x6's spaced 24" apart. Nothing broke, except my smile. The horse was made to leave pretty quickly though. I had to explain to the horse the difference between a house and a barn. I never feared the joists cracking, but was worried about a hoof going thru a floor board in that 80 to 90 year old house. The floor was fine, as was the horse. I was only a little shook up, but laughed my butt off later on......

I now have a shetand pony that likes to come on my deck, which is 2x6 on 24 framed with standard deck boards. Of course a shetland is maybe

450lbs. Seeing the pony come up the steps is pretty funny....

Yeah, this is a crazy place, but its fun !!!!!

Mark

[nicksanspam]

S = bd^2/6 = 1.5x9.25^2/6 = 21.4 in^3, M = fS = 21400 in-lb, and W = 8M/L = 8x21400/(12x12) = 1188 lb per joist, ie 1188/(12x16/12) = 74 psf for the joists, which would include the weight of the floor itself.

Nick

[EXT]

A 12 foot span normally uses a 2" x 8", not a 2" x 10" which is used up to a

15 foot span. Plus 1930-35 lumber will be probably full 2" x 10" dimension not the wimpy undersized joist material they sell now. Your floor should be good for most anything you want to put on it.

[kellyj00]

i've got the same setup in my 1964 built house...and we put an olympic weightbench in my office without thinking twice about the weight thing... and i've seen pianos on the same style of support.

You'll be fine. The only thing you have to worry about is scratching the floor. ;-)

Enjoy your new table.