[Norse1]

I am remodeling a bathroom and decided to make a new shower where a bathtub was. I have already completed the poured pan, dry walled and waterproofed. Overall size is 60" x 60" . So, started tiling yesterday and started thinking about the tile weight. At 4.4# per square foot it adds up quickly.

When I add the pan (420#), Tile (372.4#), Drywall, Plywood, Glass Door, Kitchen Ceiling Drywall and Misc., I get approximately 1,221 pounds. With a 25 square foot area, I calculate a dead load of 48.9 #/square foot. Seems I have a problem.

Floor joists are 2x10's over the kitchen with a span of 14'. If it makes any difference, the shower is located directly adjacent to a load bearing exterior wall. Any thoughts?

 

[Daniel Holzman]

Your old bathtub was probably at least two feet deep, which is about 120 pounds per square foot if it were filled with water. Your shower is less, since it holds very little water. If your tub is about where the shower is, you have already performed the experiment. You can always run the calculations on the floor joists to verify.

 

[ddawg16]

Norse, welcome to DIY. I commend you on your efforts to calculate the dead load.

Daniel is the guy to listen to for these kinds of questions. PaulMz? Ignore him. New guy who will most likely be banned real soon.

Daniel will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe dead load is an average over the total span. In your case, you are next to a load bearing wall. For the most part, you can ignore the load of any drywall and tile on that wall since the load is being transferred down the wall.

And because you are adjacent to the load bearing wall, your deflection for the floor joists is not going to be an issue. So, if you remove the weight of the tile and drywall on the load bearing wall, I'm willing to bet you are below the 40 lbs dead load you are looking for.