Can anyone explain to me what is meant by 40 psf live load/10 psf dead load, compared with 40 psf live load/20 psf dead load? What's the difference between 10 psf and 20 psf - and how do you determine which applies to your home? Does it make a difference if it's one story or two story? Thanks.
COMMUNITY FORUM
- Forum >
- Home Design >
- live load/dead load?
psf is pounds per square foot of force applied
live load is the transient load applied to a surface, such as wind load on a wall, snow or wind load on a roof, or people and furniture loads on a floor
Dead load is the permanent load that is part of a structure. It is typicallly 15-20 #/sf for a floor system that is also a cieling below. A cieling on a top floor that has only attic space above has lighter joists and only SR and insulation with no floor sheathing so it is more likely to be only 10#/sf of dead load
A structure is specifically designed according to the purpose of each room or space or surface and the loads expected to be applied to it. For instance, Dade county has extremem wind load requirements due to hurricanes. Lake Tahoe has high snow load requirements due to snmow loads. An elevated deck that is part of a dance club would have high live laod requirements because of the numbers of people that might be expected to gyrate and bounce on it. local codes define what is expected in a design.
Hope this helps
Excellence is its own reward!
live load is the transient load applied to a surface, such as wind load on a wall, snow or wind load on a roof, or people and furniture loads on a floor
Dead load is the permanent load that is part of a structure. It is typicallly 15-20 #/sf for a floor system that is also a cieling below. A cieling on a top floor that has only attic space above has lighter joists and only SR and insulation with no floor sheathing so it is more likely to be only 10#/sf of dead load
A structure is specifically designed according to the purpose of each room or space or surface and the loads expected to be applied to it. For instance, Dade county has extremem wind load requirements due to hurricanes. Lake Tahoe has high snow load requirements due to snmow loads. An elevated deck that is part of a dance club would have high live laod requirements because of the numbers of people that might be expected to gyrate and bounce on it. local codes define what is expected in a design.
Hope this helps
Excellence is its own reward!
