Hello, I live on the second floor of a turn-of-the-century house (1908). In a room of 18 square meters, we are having New Year's dinner and a subsequent dance/party (same room). I estimate that my guests weigh 1.6 tons. In addition, I estimate that additional furniture in the room weighs 250 kg. Can the room handle that load?
Hmmm if a person weighs on average 60 kg, that's 30 people, if the average weight is 80 kg, that's 20 people... Do you even fit with all the furniture.....
Maybe you have the "thick" family visiting.....R rasse123 said:
I do think the floor will hold.. the guests aren't supposed to stand on the same board, right?
We are 23 people. After dinner, tables are put away and it becomes a dance floor in that room. The weight if everyone stands still will be about 100 kg per m2. If everyone jumps together (which happens during successful events with ring dances etc.), it will be more. But maybe that's not a problem at all?R rasse123 said:
It will definitely be cramped with a circle dance if you are 23 people in 18 square meters... (That's just over 4x4 meters... our bedroom is bigger, and I certainly wouldn't want to squeeze in 23 people to dance in there... Who will get air?F Fredrik1112 said:
This is quite an interesting mathematical problem...
If you say that each circle dance participant needs 60 cm (standing shoulder to shoulder), the circle's diameter will be 4.4 meters... but you don't really stand shoulder to shoulder when dancing? Say each dancer needs 1 meter, then the diameter of the circle will be 7.3 meters... or if you prefer, 42 square meters.
Maybe a bigger room is like that. But my question remains, how much can a floor withstand?
It depends on what the joists look like... and the construction. You can drive a large tractor onto our house floor, while the floor in the cabin sways when my son runs on it... (That floor can surely also support a tractor, but only a smaller one)F Fredrik1112 said:
Okidoki, then we probably won't jump in with the neighbor.
Best answer
In residential buildings, a useful load (i.e., people and furnishings together) is calculated at approximately 200 kg/sqm. This principle has been used since the first national building code was introduced in 1946 (BABS 46). Before that, there were the Building Board's regulations on materials and work for state construction projects. It focused more on suitable beam dimensions for different spans. The latest edition I have is from 1937, but it likely has quite old origins and should have served as a standard. I believe that your room should withstand the intended load, especially since it will be distributed over the entire area. What is less favorable in most older (not necessarily very old) houses is the resistance to flexing. Expect it to be a bit swaying when everyone is jumping around. This also obviously depends on the choice of dance. Old-fashioned dances like Hambo are certainly a challenge for most floors, but that probably won't be the case...
Just try, don't forget to buy Gevalia when you visit the neighbor downstairs.