I'm planning to put a jetted tub in a bathroom, but I'm concerned that the floor may not support it adequately. I understand I need 15lbs per square foot?? How far apart should the joists be, and if they are not close enough, how can I improve support? Thanks
what's there now ? how long are the floor joists, what dimension (2x10 ?), and how far apart (16" ?). where the tub would be is there a wall underneath to carry the load down, or do you need to depend on the joists ?
Hi, Joist is typically 16" OC. If the house is built properly, it'll support the tub without any trouble. My house has a Jaccuzi tub in our master bathroom upstairs. No issues at all.
Don't count on that. Find out for sure what the spacing is. There are quite a few products out there now that only require floor joist to be 24" o.c.. Look in your basement/crawlspace if you have one. Lou
Your municipal building permit office can tell you. You are probably required to get a building permit for this refit anyway.
No wall under the proposed space. The joists are 2x9, and where the bath will go they are (oddly) 4", 12", 13", and 4" apart! Also the floorboards above them are set diagonally across them--don't know if that spreads the load any differently.
The span of the joists also enter into this.
Google "floor joist load calculator' for some additional information.
How old is the house and what is on the floor now where you will be placing tub.
Hmmm, This house of mine was designed and custom built by us in 1994. None of such thing as OSB panels, laminated beams, engineered floor like craps. Joists are 16" OC of course. Two person Jaccuzi in our bathroom never even caused floor squeak.
Hmmm, I know every thing about this house of mine built in '94. Wife designed it with a help from an architect, hired a contractor with excellent reputation(he built our last house). I still have a set of blue prints. Framing, wiring, plumbing, hvac duct runs all can be checked and traced.
if your wooden framed house sways just a bit in the winter windstorm or shakes just a bit when the washing machine runs on the second floor, the water capacity of the tub at about one pint equals a pound will be enhanced by the weight of how many people weighing up to how many pounds at what floor level, may actually be be of no concern if you are replacing an existing tub that came with the house with one of equal size. if the second story of the my old 1910 size 1500 sq ft footprint building is loaded with a king size waterbed and 1 super single waterbeds, 1 clawfoot bathtub, 1 modern bathtub, washing machine, foundation a half basement, other half on zero crawlspace, walls 16" on center [O.C.] actual 2 x 4" frame, 2" x 10" first floor ceiling joists spanning a former first floor high ceiling general store, this works here but your results may vary. and for us i would have skipped it since our family of four preferred to get a hot shower, get clean, and get out. the electric circulating pump still works, one directional adjuster is wobbly, no water leaks. sanitizing the recirculating piping may be even a greater concern as we know more about more health risks now than 20 years ago. see your search for spa or hot tub at:
There's a simple test. Rent a cow for the weekend. Walk the cow into your bathroom. If the floor holds the cow, you are fine. If not you need to replace the floor and the cow, but you'll have lots of hamburgers to complete the job.
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Sooooo, what does this have to do with the OP's question? Lou
Your house sounds like it was well-built. The diagonal laydown is more to reduce stress and buckling along the two orthogonal horizontal axes of the house. I had an old house with this type of construction. Tongue and groove base floor (diagonal laydown) with solid oak flooring above. The oak boards ran parallel to one of the walls, naturally.
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