Attic Storage Live Load
Of floor area dead load of partitions 20 lbs.
Attic storage live load. Of floor area dead load on second floor 20 lbs. Storage space dead load of partitions 20 lbs. Use span tables for progressively heavier loads until you find the limits of your floor. In this case your joists are adequate to support a 30 psf live load and 10 psf dead load.
Basically if the space is large enough to accommodate storage of various items the user will use the space as such. Attic floors with limited storage l 240 10 psf strength of a material is obviously important. The span table for a 30 psf live load 10psf dead load floor indicates a required fb value of 1 315 and a minimum e value of 1 800 000. Dead load of attic floor when floored 20 lbs.
If your attic joists won t bear the weight necessary to finish out a living space but the engineer cleared them to support floor decking for light storage you can install inch plywood or. Live load on second floor local requirements. If we look back at the definition above for live loads we can see that attic storage is considered a live load since this load is produced by the user given the nature of the space. In sleeping only areas a 30 psf live load is required.
Offices require 50 psf. Dead load of first floor ceiling plastered 20 lbs. Unlike stiffness live loads and dead loads are added together to determine minimum design values for strength. The previous homeowner may have simply covered the joists with plywood to use the space for storage.
D w provides an adequate and. Flooring for dead loads may not be sufficient for live loads the loads created by people and the features of living space. In attics built purely for storage purposes you may find 2x6 ceiling joists or in some cases even 2x4 joists. Dead load of first floor ceiling not plastered 10 lbs.
However if the attic is intended for storage the attic live load or some portion should also be considered for the design of other elements in the load path. While this is not the optimal setup it is acceptable to have ceiling joists covered with plywood or osb to use for light attic storage of dead loads. Joists and rafters must be strong enough not to break when loaded.