Floor Load Limit and Acclimating Hardwood

fishyjoe · 01-31-2013, 10:31 PM

I need to bring 1209 square feet of hardwood flooring to acclimate before installation. The total weight of the flooring is approximately 3200 lbs. I am planning on spreading this out around an 11' x 13' room.

By my calculations, that is about 22 lbs per square foot.

The floor joists are 2 x 10 and 16" off center, with a 13' span.

Will this be alright?

joecaption · 02-01-2013, 10:01 AM

Just make more piles to spread out the load.

JazMan · 02-01-2013, 12:52 PM

That is not how the instructions tells you to do it. You're supposed to put the wood the the rooms it's going in, not all in one room. They also tell you to open the boxes so the wood is exposed. But, who does that?

Standard joists load is usually 40 lb. live and 10 lb. dead weight. You'd be way over limit at 22 plus the real number will be much higher in spots.

I would not put all that wood in that room.

Jaz

woodman58 · 02-01-2013, 01:00 PM

We normally stack our wood 4 boxes wide and 6 boxes high, then move to another area. Have never had trouble doing it this way.

JazMan · 02-01-2013, 01:12 PM

The OP said he's considering to store 1209 sq. ft. in a room that is 140 ft. I wonder how much of the 140 ft. will really be utilized? The load will be off the charts. Plus the boxes will not be opened etc. You won't find instructions like that anywhere.

Jaz

zakany · 02-01-2013, 03:49 PM

You would be better off spreading it throughout the room where it will be used. I can understand that may be problematic, but do what you can. At least open the ends of the boxes.

2x10, 16-center, 20 psf dead load / 40 psf live load your maximum allowable span is 16 ft.

So technically you could do it, but I would advise against it. Right now I have less wood in a larger room and I'm at the edge of my comfort zone.

I'm kinda in the same boat. I have an empty room where I can put my flooring, but I am doing other rooms that are being utilized. So the bulk of my flooring is nearby, in opened-ended boxes - but I still bring in what I can to sit for a few days, completely open, prior to installation. Just hide 'em under the couch.

JazMan · 02-01-2013, 04:33 PM

Most homes are built to meet minimum standards of 40/10 not 40/20. That means once the subfloor is installed you're already close to the limit for dead load.

When I advise people when installing ceramic tiles, I use 50/20. Even there I think the dead load limit is too low. Ply plus ceramic tiles and all that goes with it can easily reach 30 lb. per sq. ft.

Jaz