Existing Floor Live Load Limits vs. Adding a Prefab Booth 2

[JEB777]

I'm involved in a project with an existing floor condition. The live load is 50psf. The owner wants to place a 3100# prefab hearing booth within the space and also a file cabinet. The booth is 4lf by 5 lf (approx. 150psf) and the file cabinet is 1000# (approx. 1.5lf by 2lf).

Is is appropriate to relate the booth load of 150psf to the floor live load of 50psf?

 

[ishvaaag]

Well, you can analyze the floor for the actual situation, keeping the 50 psf elsewhere than the support surfaces. You may even use point loads for their supports instead of the projected load. So you will be able to ascertain the degradation the new setup will mean to safety as per the code. If the floor is just a bit overdesigned it may result thay you still even entirely comply with its demands.

The philosophical point here is that what is expected from the structural designer if feasible is to satisfy the structural intent of the commissioner, or otherwise provide better advice and solution. So everything is debatable till some point of clarification is reached.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Yes - you might have a problem. Check the existing floor very carefully