×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Partition Loads

Partition Loads

Partition Loads

(OP)
IBC 1607.5 states that partition loads should be considered as live loads and not be less than 20 psf.  It also states this applies to cases where the location of the partitions is subject to change.  ASCE 7-05 lists partitions as dead loads in table C3-1.  

What do you use for a partition load for an office building?  If the partitions are fixed do you consider them as a dead load?
 

RE: Partition Loads

(OP)
Actually, IBC 2006 has changed the 20 psf to 15 psf.   

RE: Partition Loads

We consider them as LL.

RE: Partition Loads

For an office building where any tenant could remodel interior partitions etc. use a LL of 15 (if IBC 2006).  If you know that the walls will not move (e.g. a hotel or apartment with fixed demising walls) then you can use a dead load.  Note that if you go with the 15psf LL route you can still reduce it per code.   

RE: Partition Loads

For projects designed as shell spaces on architectural drawings, used 20 psf as part of LL.  If architectural drawings showed partitions are fixed, used weight of materials as DL.

RE: Partition Loads

I usually include a note that states that partitions cannot be relocated without consultation of the engineer and show the location of the partitions.  I then just check the weight of a standard partition less the live load displaced and design for the balance assuming an 8' x 8' grid.

Dik

RE: Partition Loads

I take the partition loading as superimposed dead load, typically 25% of the live load.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources