Floorboards and joist-span
Steve Holden
The new floor's starting to come together at last :-)
I know that the spacing between joists is usually 16" (though I gather
from my DIY books that up to 2' used to be used), but...
If I need to increase the span to 18" or 19" in some places (eg. in the
alcoves) what thickness of (PTG) floorboard will I need? I assume 19mm
boards are too thin for this span - would 1" (or 22mm?) boards be ok?
Oh, and regarding the quality of the timber: is it best to go for
quarter-sawn boards, rather than the usual cheapo ones?
PTG flooring I've had from Wickes (to make shelves from) has already
cupped (but then most of their timber seems to warp, twist or cup as
soon as I get it out the car!).
Does softwood = pine? Any other woods recommended?
Previous postings have suggested it's not worth shelling out for
hardwood...
Finally, anything else I should ask for (apart from "joinery quality")?
Any reasons to go for PAR rather than PTG? Assuming, of course, I don't
want to take the floor up ever again ;-)
Thanks as ever,
Steve
leo
<d...@coordinated.co.uk> writes
>
>Oh, and regarding the quality of the timber: is it best to go for
>quarter-sawn boards, rather than the usual cheapo ones?
>PTG flooring I've had from Wickes (to make shelves from) has already
>cupped (but then most of their timber seems to warp, twist or cup as
>soon as I get it out the car!).
If I had to lay an entire floor I would do it in 8" x 1" oak boards.
This is about 2.50 per metre from our local sawmills but will last for
ever and will certainly be strong enough for what you want to do
--
leo
Roger Chapman
from Steve Holden <d...@coordinated.co.uk> contains these words:
> I know that the spacing between joists is usually 16" (though I gather
> from my DIY books that up to 2' used to be used), but...
> If I need to increase the span to 18" or 19" in some places (eg. in the
> alcoves) what thickness of (PTG) floorboard will I need? I assume 19mm
> boards are too thin for this span - would 1" (or 22mm?) boards be ok?
FWIW my 1965 reference gives 3/4" T & G flooring @ 16" centres, 7/8"
at 18" centres and 1" at 21" centres. No idea what they are in mm :-)
or whether that is finished size although I suspect it must be.
Roger
Charles (Joe) Stahelin
>
>from my DIY books that up to 2' used to be used), but...
>
>If I need to increase the span to 18" or 19" in some places (eg. in the
>alcoves) what thickness of (PTG) floorboard will I need? I assume 19mm
>boards are too thin for this span - would 1" (or 22mm?) boards be ok?
>
>
>quarter-sawn boards, rather than the usual cheapo ones?
>PTG flooring I've had from Wickes (to make shelves from) has already
>cupped (but then most of their timber seems to warp, twist or cup as
>soon as I get it out the car!).
>
>Previous postings have suggested it's not worth shelling out for
>hardwood...
>
>Finally, anything else I should ask for (apart from "joinery quality")?
>Any reasons to go for PAR rather than PTG? Assuming, of course, I don't
>want to take the floor up ever again ;-)
The most important point is to ensure that the water content of the
timber you use has stabilised - in other words is fully seasoned and
balanced to the conditions it will find after the floor has been
installed. Failure to observe this is the root cause of the gaps so
often seen between floor boards - the boards dry out (continue to
season) in situ and shrink across the grain.
A point to watch in regard to floorboard thickness: Unless the floor is
protected by carpet or by some other covering its life is dependent on
the protection afforded by varnishing on initial installation and
routine maintenance, and on the nature of usage (wear, etc in use).
Periodically, it will require re-sanding and re-sealing and will 'lose'
a little of its thickness each time. The extent of the loss will
depend on how much wood has to be removed to restore the surface to 'As
New' condition. The frequency at which this has to be done will depend
on the natural 'resistance to punishment' of the timber used.
You should find a reliable timber merchant, tell him your problems and
ask for advice and an assurance that the timber selected and supplied
will not shrink after laying.
You may find 'Notes on Floor Cleaning' which are in the FAQ quite
useful.
--
Charles (Joe) Stahelin, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Web site for uk.d-i-y FAQ: http://pages.eidosnet.co.uk/~ukdiy/index.html
Andrew Gabriel
"Charles (Joe) Stahelin" <j...@stahelin.demon.co.uk> writes:
>
>The most important point is to ensure that the water content of the
>timber you use has stabilised - in other words is fully seasoned and
>balanced to the conditions it will find after the floor has been
>installed. Failure to observe this is the root cause of the gaps so
>often seen between floor boards - the boards dry out (continue to
>season) in situ and shrink across the grain.
I replaced a large amount of my living room floor some 15 years ago.
The boards in my house are all plain, not T&G. The first lot I put down
too soon, and after a few weeks, a 1mm gap opened up as you describe.
The next lot I left for some weeks in the room and then put down. These
didn't shrink, but as you walked on them, the edges of adjacent boards
creeked against each other midway between joists, so a got a saw out
and sawed a 1mm gap between them all. No creeking now...
All the original boards (c.1900) have a 1mm gap too.
--
Andrew Gabriel
Consultant Software Engineer
Stuart Noble
Steve Holden wrote in message <3944D64B...@coordinated.co.uk>...
>>Does softwood = pine?
No, but pine does equal softwood. Any evergreen tree is a "softwood". Some
are as hard as nails. Some hardwoods are as soft as...
The choice with flooring is whitewood (spruce/xmas tree) or redwood (the
standard stuff you see in timber merchants). Whitewood is cheaper and more
stable (i.e. it shrinks the same as redwood but twists less in the process).
Used for scaffolding boards, and perfect for flooring that's not going to be
seen. AFAIK, only Jewsons stock it.
>Any other woods recommended?
Parana pine is the usual choice for boards over 7" wide ,but it's not a good
colour match with the previous 2. Hemlock is nice if you're made of money
(see the Royal Festival Hall I think.)
>is it best to go for
>quarter-sawn boards, rather than the usual cheapo ones?
Not usually a choice with softwood. Talk to a specialist merchant like Timb
Met (?) in Oxford if you're really serious
Dave Heiland
months ago using reclaimed pine c1900 and the gaps vary from none to 4mm.
My excuse is they match the gaps of the rest of the house (also c1900) so
they don't look out of place :)
When I got the wood I had it planed flat on top to match the height of the
previous floor, but didn't get the sides planed - to save money and to keep
as much of the original appearance as possible (and it never occurred to me
to do so). Many of the boards curved ever so slightly along their length,
bending horizontally so that if they layed on the floor against a flat wall
the edges would touch but the centre would have a gap. To match the rest of
the floors we used 4m boards to fit the full width of the room. As a result
I had to use an electric plane to shave the sides until they were as close
as my unskilled eye could get them in the time I had.
Unfortunately I may have to lift a board or two along one edge of the wall
to fix a creak (that sounds more like a kathunk). The previous floor was a
t&g chipboard floor layed across 4x4 joists. For some reason the ends of
the joists were not fixed, and therefore floated about an inch above the
support walls. With the chipboard there was enough support that this didn't
seem to matter. But with the pine boards the joists tend to 'drop' down
slightly with a thud if you walked near the edge then move back up when you
moved away. Fortunately I fixed the worst side of the room before finishing
the floors. Unfortunately the other side seemed fine until a small thud at
the bottom of the stairs showed up a few weeks later. Its a matter of how
long I wait until it drives me nuts enough to fix it.
Dave
Paul Burgin
>You should find a reliable timber merchant, tell him your problems and
>ask for advice and an assurance that the timber selected and supplied
>will not shrink after laying.
Ugh, shudder I never realised floorboards were so complicated. I'm a bit
worried now as 6 months ago I replaced the floor under my bath (very heavy one
at that) with Homebase chipboard of equivalent thinkness. The previous floor
had rotted badly - due to a sealing problem which was fixed as part of the
project. But have I errored in the choice of replacement wood? If so, how
seriously?
Thanks.
Paul
--
Paul D. Burgin
Steve Holden
wrote:
>Ugh, shudder I never realised floorboards were so complicated. I'm a bit
>worried now as 6 months ago I replaced the floor under my bath (very heavy one
>at that) with Homebase chipboard of equivalent thinkness. ...
>But have I errored in the choice of replacement wood?
How thick was the chipboard?
Unless your joists are uncommonly far apart (see prior bits of this
thread), 18mm *flooring grade* chipboard should be ok.
I'm thinking of the 18mm (green-coloured) water-resistant "V313" stuff
I've had from Wickes.
What sort/size of bath is it?
If it's an acrylic bath, does its supporting frame have adjustable
feet on it? Could these be shortened (one or two at a time!) to allow
something to be pushed underneath to spread the load?
If it's a heavy metal one, could it be lifted slightly and sat on a
baseboard? Does anything prohibit this (eg. are the taps on flexis or
copper; would it ruin the look of the tiling)?
Any idea how close the feet (or equivalent) are to the joists
underneath?
Here's hoping it's all just fine :-)
Steve
PS Thanks to everyone who's replied so far!
PPS Gosh, this 2x4's awfully warped - how green do they cut it?!
Does make level joists that much trickier to achieve :-(
Anyway - lunch over, back to it...!
Direct Timber
Steve Holden <d...@coordinated.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3944D64B...@coordinated.co.uk...
>
> The new floor's starting to come together at last :-)
>
> I know that the spacing between joists is usually 16" (though I gather
> from my DIY books that up to 2' used to be used), but...
>
> If I need to increase the span to 18" or 19" in some places (eg. in the
> alcoves) what thickness of (PTG) floorboard will I need? I assume 19mm
> boards are too thin for this span - would 1" (or 22mm?) boards be ok?
>
>
> Oh, and regarding the quality of the timber: is it best to go for
> quarter-sawn boards, rather than the usual cheapo ones?
> PTG flooring I've had from Wickes (to make shelves from) has already
> cupped (but then most of their timber seems to warp, twist or cup as
> soon as I get it out the car!).
>
> Does softwood = pine? Any other woods recommended?
> Previous postings have suggested it's not worth shelling out for
> hardwood...
>
> Finally, anything else I should ask for (apart from "joinery quality")?
> Any reasons to go for PAR rather than PTG? Assuming, of course, I don't
> want to take the floor up ever again ;-)
>
>
> Thanks as ever,
> Steve
Dave Heiland
loft. Haven't looked into much at all yet, but the loft space is fairly
small, about 3m following the line of the pitched roof, and about 3m wide
useable space. I want to use it for storage (can just about stand in the
centre) not living space. There appear to be 3 visible joists running along
the line of the roof - 1 in the centre, and 1 either side about 1.5m away.
There is insulation under the joists. I still need to look more closely at
its construction.
Obviously I can't just put cheap loftboards across the joists - they won't
reach joist to joist, let alone support the weight. The question is what
are my likely alternatives. Could I get away with putting 25mm boards
across them (leftover from doing a floor), or would the flex be too much
even for storage and going up there to stack boxes, etc?
Dave
Steve Holden
<C...@directtimber.co.uk> wrote:
>Is the floor going to have a carpet or other secondary surface laid on it?
Nope - I was going to chipboard and laminate it, then realised that if
I was going to all this trouble I might as well put proper floorboards
down and varnish/wax them...
Roger Chapman
from ABCbur...@logica.com (Paul Burgin) contains these words:
> Ugh, shudder I never realised floorboards were so complicated. I'm a bit
> worried now as 6 months ago I replaced the floor under my bath (very heavy one
> at that) with Homebase chipboard of equivalent thinkness. The previous floor
> had rotted badly - due to a sealing problem which was fixed as part of the
> project. But have I errored in the choice of replacement wood? If so, how
> seriously?
AFAIK chipboard does not shrink. However if ordinary(1) chipboard
should get wet for any length of time it becomes about as strong as
wet cardboard. If your leak returns you will indeed have a serious
problem on your hands.
(1) You can get green chipboard that is allegedly good enough for
bathroom floors but I have no direct experience of that.
Roger
Charles (Joe) Stahelin
<and...@cucumber.demon.co.uk> writes
>I replaced a large amount of my living room floor some 15 years ago.
>The boards in my house are all plain, not T&G. The first lot I put down
>too soon, and after a few weeks, a 1mm gap opened up as you describe.
>The next lot I left for some weeks in the room and then put down. These
>didn't shrink, but as you walked on them, the edges of adjacent boards
>creeked against each other midway between joists, so a got a saw out
>and sawed a 1mm gap between them all. No creeking now...
>All the original boards (c.1900) have a 1mm gap too.
If plain (not T&G) boards are long they probably need fixing down at
reasonable (or critical) intervals along their length. It is possible
that there is some irregularity in the levels of the joists and this
will allow all except very thick boards to spring a bit.
Also, but I am sure you would not make this error, it is possible that
all the boards lay quite flat during the final seasoning period. It
is, of course, possible that they were not laid out properly from the
time the trunk was planked.
A 1mm gap between boards does not really matter unless the floor is to
be on show rather than covered wall-to-wall - except if the space
below the floor is very well ventilated and the air-flow causes draughts
at the edges of the room, or inconveniently placed dirt marks.
Charles (Joe) Stahelin
<dhei...@lucent.com> writes
..... snip
>Unfortunately I may have to lift a board or two along one edge of the wall
>to fix a creak (that sounds more like a kathunk). The previous floor was a
>t&g chipboard floor layed across 4x4 joists. For some reason the ends of
>the joists were not fixed, and therefore floated about an inch above the
>support walls. With the chipboard there was enough support that this didn't
>seem to matter. But with the pine boards the joists tend to 'drop' down
>slightly with a thud if you walked near the edge then move back up when you
>moved away. Fortunately I fixed the worst side of the room before finishing
>the floors. Unfortunately the other side seemed fine until a small thud at
>the bottom of the stairs showed up a few weeks later. Its a matter of how
>long I wait until it drives me nuts enough to fix it.
The judicious placing of a few screws might sort this out for you.
Charles (Joe) Stahelin
<ABCbur...@logica.com> writes
>gh, shudder I never realised floorboards were so complicated. I'm a bit
>worried now as 6 months ago I replaced the floor under my bath (very heavy one
>at that) with Homebase chipboard of equivalent thinkness. The previous floor
>had rotted badly - due to a sealing problem which was fixed as part of the
>project. But have I errored in the choice of replacement wood? If so, how
>seriously?
As a precaution, and to prevent damage to the chipboard in the case of
leakage or spillage, coat the chipboard with a clear varnish such as
BourneSeal which is available in some B&Q sheds or from Decorators'
Suppliers. I recommend three coats all applied thinly. The first
coat should be quite well thinned out with white spirit, the second less
so, and the third at full strength. The previous coat must be quite
dry before applying a subsequent coat. In some cases (or in some
'thirsty' areas of the boards) more than three coats may be required.
If you are unable to get at the edges of boards adjoining the wall you
could consider fixing (and sealing) beading along the walls so that
water cannot flow over the edge and leave it wet.
I do not think the situation is serious unless the plumbing is bad or
unless the antics of children or adults in the bath cause a deal of
spillage.
Direct Timber
other softwood for exposed flooring unless you intend to ask all of your
guests to walk around in socks and slippers.
High & stiletto type heels on a softwood floor leaves indents which can not
be removed without constant sanding and finishing.
Oak is the most widely used timber for flooring with Maple & Cherry
following close behind.
Using hardwood, with its superior strength, also means that you can "get
away" with slightly wider centres on the joists.
Email me at c...@directtimber.com (Not .co.uk as it says in the header) if you
need any more advice.
Chris
www.directtimber.com
Steve Holden <d...@coordinated.co.uk> wrote in message
news:394659c7...@news.force9.net...
Dave Heiland
hammered in enough nails to make sure of this), its that the joist doesn't
rest on the support wall at one end of the joist. When you step on the
boards the joist moves down to the wall with a noticeable noise. Now I
can't see under the floor so I'm not 100% certain, but similar noises on the
other side of the joists were resolved by putting in wedges under the joists
to prevent movement. Why they were floating in the first place I can't
figure out. Unfortunately I thought it was for a good reason and left it.
Even a very heavy bookcase at the room edge hasn't stopped it. If it was in
the other corner I'd live with it, but its the most walked on part of the
room.
Whats annoying is that the floor is varnished, and if I lift up the boards I
risk breaking and or marking the edges where I lift up, or of not having the
boards lay as well as they are now. Fortunately I used two half room length
boards along the length of this wall and one edge goes under the door frame
so I might be able to do it without too much damage.
Is there any reason to use joists whose ends don't rest on the supporting
wall? These joists appear to have been put in in the last few decades, and
the gap was clearly intentional not the result of settling. Air flow isn't
a problem (at least now that I've cleared out the air vent).
Dave
>>Unfortunately I may have to lift a board or two along one edge of
>> the wall to fix a creak
> The judicious placing of a few screws might sort this out for you.
Smart Alex
joists. They support relatively small ceiling joists and give lateral
stability to them. The ceiling joists themselves are hidden below the
insulation.
--
Smart Alex
"You know? I'd rather see this on TV.
"Tones it down." [Laurie Anderson]
"Dave Heiland" <dhei...@lucent.com> wrote in message
news:8i5hfh$b...@ssbunews.ih.lucent.com...
Roger Chapman
from "Dave Heiland" <dhei...@lucent.com> contains these words:
> The problem isn't that the boards aren't tight enough to the joist (I
> hammered in enough nails to make sure of this), its that the joist doesn't
> rest on the support wall at one end of the joist. When you step on the
> boards the joist moves down to the wall with a noticeable noise. Now I
> can't see under the floor so I'm not 100% certain, but similar noises on the
> other side of the joists were resolved by putting in wedges under the joists
> to prevent movement. Why they were floating in the first place I can't
> figure out. Unfortunately I thought it was for a good reason and left it.
> Even a very heavy bookcase at the room edge hasn't stopped it. If it was in
> the other corner I'd live with it, but its the most walked on part of the
> room.
The purpose of joists is to support the floor and not vice versa so
they should not hang from the floorboards at any time. Maybe the
loose ones were carelessly laid and the floorboards have pulled them
up or maybe the support has worn or sunk. Either way you should have
wedged them up so they remain level with the other joists when a load
is applied.
> Is there any reason to use joists whose ends don't rest on the supporting
> wall? These joists appear to have been put in in the last few decades, and
> the gap was clearly intentional not the result of settling. Air flow isn't
> a problem (at least now that I've cleared out the air vent).
I take it you mean that the joists do not extend into the room walls.
If the joists are not supported by anything they are not doing their
job but the prefered method is to support ground floor joists on a
'sleeper' wall built a few inches inside the room wall as that way it
is much easier to provide a damp barrier and prevent the joist ends rotting.
Air vent? Are you sure that is enough? I would expect a modern house
with a suspended floor to have 6 or 8 air vents.
Roger
Dave Heiland
To clarify - the mid terrace cottage was built c1900 and the original pine
floorboards in the ground floor sitting room were replaced with chipboard at
some point by a previous owner. They appear to have replaced the joists as
well (judging by the new look of the 4x4 joists).
There is a 2ft sleeper wall just next to each party wall, and 2 sleeper
walls in the centre (separated by 1/3 room width). The two sleeper walls
have a board running along their length, and there are 4x4 joists about 17
inch apart running from one party wall to the other. The joists were only
resting on the boards on the sleeper walls and not at either end, and do not
go into the party walls. Although the ends weren't touching the support
wall, they had, oddly, put small squares of dpc paper under the ends.
In retrospect I should have wedged the ends first (the wall was too uneven
for a single board). However, it looked like it was done for a reason I
wasn't aware of, so I left it, though I was able to rectify one side. This
meant destroying and replacing one board after sanding but before dying.
The problem of learning diy as you go.
There is only one vent at the front of the house, and 1 at the back in the
kitchen extension (and I hope there is air flow under the kitchen).
Dave
Paul Burgin
>How thick was the chipboard?
>I'm thinking of the 18mm (green-coloured) water-resistant "V313" stuff
>I've had from Wickes.
>What sort/size of bath is it?
Thanks for the advice, folks. Unfortunately I didn't use the green grade
chipboard, just the ordinary stuff that Homebase sell but it was 18mm
so seemed pretty strong. Perhaps there's something I can paint it with to gain
the waterproofing that comes with the green stuff? The floor's sufficiently
accessible to paint, whereas replacing the wood would be a major project.
I'm not sure what the bath is made of but its certainly metal and extremely
heavy [iron?] (had to borrow two trolley jacks to move it). It
has four adjustable feet which are really just bolts with a thread, which then
sit on four bricks. It also fits into a grooves along two walls.
At the time I replaced the floor the previous boards were so rotten that one
of the legs was suspended above its brick! It'd probably been like that for
at least a year - so I guess at least this shows it'd have to suddenly go very
wrong for there to be an, ahem, incident.
The joists are a normal width apart I think; there's one basically running
along one side of the bath, and another at the wall side, so the new floor
spans between them. Actually, only half the floor was replaced (tap & shower
end) as the other half was good.
From what people have said I get the impression it should be ok so long
as the floor doesn't get wet - which it shouldn't as the wall seals are now
excellent with not a drop getting through (I used one of those L-shaped
Homelux strips and retiled the whole area). I've had a little water escape
under the shower screen on the open side, but I'm keeping an eye on this
and have almost solved it (I've made a two inch long ridge of silicone under
the screen at the hinge end, which has reduced the leaks from a cupfull per
shower to just a couple of drops).
Thanx again for the hints and tips,
Steve Allsopp
<d...@coordinated.co.uk> wrote:
>
>The new floor's starting to come together at last :-)
This thread reminds me of a problem I'm anticipating. Having just
exchanged on a new house, I will be wanting to put a 19" rack cabinet
into one of the upstairs rooms. The cabinet itself weights somewhere
of the order of 50kg, to which must be added another 55kg of UPS, and
probably a total of around 50kg more for other kit.
What I'm concerned about is whether the floor in the room into which
this will go is going to support such a weight, and/or whether I need
to take special steps, like spreading the load. That's all assuming
that the Financial Director doesn't balk when she sees me trying to
get it up the stairs, in which case I guess it's going to end up in
the garage :-)
The house is a 1930's built semi, and I plan to install the cabinet
alongside one of the walls (possibly in a corner), but it will need to
be rolled out if I have to gain access to the rear.
The cabinet runs on wheels, but also has screw-down legs, if that
matters.
Funny, after 8 years in a flat with a suspended concrete floor, I
hadn't realised how spoiled I'd got...
--
Warning: end of message imminent. Stop reading now.
Tony Bryer
wrote:
> This thread reminds me of a problem I'm anticipating. Having just
> exchanged on a new house, I will be wanting to put a 19" rack cabinet
> into one of the upstairs rooms. The cabinet itself weights somewhere
> of the order of 50kg, to which must be added another 55kg of UPS, and
> probably a total of around 50kg more for other kit.
>
> What I'm concerned about is whether the floor in the room into which
> this will go is going to support such a weight, and/or whether I need
> to take special steps, like spreading the load.
Domestic floors are generally designed to take a distributed load of
150kg/m2 (30lb/ft2) across the whole floor. Loading at the ends of
joists has less effect than if in the middle of the span. In addition
on most houses all first floor joists are the same size and spacing,
but this is determined by the greatest span, so joists with smaller
spans will carry a much greater load.
Given that you are presumably going to have an area of clear floor in
front of the cabinet I would not expect any problems. When you want to
become an ISP and fill the room with cabinets I would consult an
engineer - whether you do this before or after you consult a divorce
lawyer is your call <g>
Tony Bryer SDA UK
Steve Allsopp
wrote:
>In article <snnuks0role9ue3lj...@4ax.com>, Steve Allsopp
>wrote:
>> What I'm concerned about is whether the floor in the room into which
>> this will go is going to support such a weight, and/or whether I need
>> to take special steps, like spreading the load.
>
>Domestic floors are generally designed to take a distributed load of
>150kg/m2 (30lb/ft2) across the whole floor. Loading at the ends of
>joists has less effect than if in the middle of the span. In addition
>on most houses all first floor joists are the same size and spacing,
>but this is determined by the greatest span, so joists with smaller
>spans will carry a much greater load.
OK, all sounds good so far. I guess it would be a good idea to make
sure that the wheels/feet rest on joists, rather than on the
floorboards between them, though?
>Given that you are presumably going to have an area of clear floor in
>front of the cabinet I would not expect any problems. When you want to
>become an ISP and fill the room with cabinets I would consult an
>engineer - whether you do this before or after you consult a divorce
>lawyer is your call <g>
Best, probably, to try and avoid that situation arising in the first
place :-)
Steve Allsopp
wrote:
>In article <snnuks0role9ue3lj...@4ax.com>, Steve Allsopp
>wrote:
>> This thread reminds me of a problem I'm anticipating. Having just
>> exchanged on a new house, I will be wanting to put a 19" rack cabinet
>> into one of the upstairs rooms. The cabinet itself weights somewhere
>> of the order of 50kg, to which must be added another 55kg of UPS, and
>> probably a total of around 50kg more for other kit.
>>
>> What I'm concerned about is whether the floor in the room into which
>> this will go is going to support such a weight, and/or whether I need
>> to take special steps, like spreading the load.
>
>Domestic floors are generally designed to take a distributed load of
>150kg/m2 (30lb/ft2) across the whole floor. Loading at the ends of
>joists has less effect than if in the middle of the span. In addition
>on most houses all first floor joists are the same size and spacing,
>but this is determined by the greatest span, so joists with smaller
>spans will carry a much greater load.
>
>Given that you are presumably going to have an area of clear floor in
>front of the cabinet I would not expect any problems. When you want to
>become an ISP and fill the room with cabinets I would consult an
>engineer - whether you do this before or after you consult a divorce
>lawyer is your call <g>
>
>Tony Bryer SDA UK
John Armstrong
<ste...@castle-systems.co.uk> wrote:
>On Mon, 12 Jun 2000 13:23:39 +0100, Steve Holden
><d...@coordinated.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>
>>The new floor's starting to come together at last :-)
>
>This thread reminds me of a problem I'm anticipating. Having just
>exchanged on a new house, I will be wanting to put a 19" rack cabinet
>into one of the upstairs rooms. The cabinet itself weights somewhere
>of the order of 50kg, to which must be added another 55kg of UPS, and
>probably a total of around 50kg more for other kit.
>
>What I'm concerned about is whether the floor in the room into which
>this will go is going to support such a weight, and/or whether I need
>to take special steps, like spreading the load. That's all assuming
>that the Financial Director doesn't balk when she sees me trying to
>get it up the stairs, in which case I guess it's going to end up in
>the garage :-)
>
This isn't that great a weight when you think about it. I am not the
fattest person around and weigh 70kg, so this total weight isn't much
more than two people my size standing in the corner, although the
casters will focus the weight over a smaller area than my feet do. A
board under the feet/castors should prevent damage to the carpet/floor
boards.
--
John
Steve Allsopp
I did wonder that. My first thought was to cut a square of MDF, but
I've since been advised that HDF would be a wiser choice. Ultimately,
the carpet will be replaced with laminate flooring, which I suppose
should be ideal at spreading the weight, especially if it's laid
perpendicular to the floorboards. Still,.we're not actually *in*
there, yet, so I'll save the advanced plans 'til then.