maximum safe weight for my floor?

[tw2979]

I'm wondering if anyone here has any info on the maximum weight that a typical floor can hold in ~ 3 or 4 sq ft. I'm looking to purchase a gun safe and I want to put the safe somewhere on the second floor of my two floor home. The floor joists are 2"x6" and are @ 24" on center and the safe would be placed next to a load bearing wall.

Any ideas?

 

[Len-2A Training]

Yes, talk with your Building Inspector. He should know this sort of info!

 

[highlander]

my safe weighs in at 400lbs and I've had no problems but my house is 160 years old. size of a small to med fridge

 

[calsdad]

Long answer if you really want to get technical:

First you need to have some idea of how the floor in your house is built. Some older houses have floors that are framed with as little as 2x6 lumber. You also need to know the span that the floor joists go - a typical house built in the last 50 years or so is 24ft wide - so it will have a 12ft span for the floor joists.

You can find load ratings for dimensional lumber by doing a little searching on the web - here is one that I found by doing a little searching:

http://www.southernpine.com/spantables.shtml

What you want to look at is "dead load" ratings. For a typical gun safe that weighs maybe 500 pounds loaded with some guns the typical floor in the typical house should support that with no problem. Think of it as two good sized adult men standing very close to each other in the same spot - should not be a problem. With heavy loads like that it is best to put it at an inside or outside wall - where the rafter ends are supported on the load bearing walls. This will help prevent sagging over time.

 

[matt]

2x6 with 24 inch spacings? You sure? That sound's pretty flimsy. Is this an unfinished attic with a truss roof?

 

[calsdad]

I have never seen a floor actually framed with 2x6 on 24" spacing unless it was the floor over a garage area - and was not intended to carry much weight. That type of floor is not going to carry much weight - even if it is right up against the load bearing wall.

 

[Another_David]

All you need to figure this out is a bucket of buffalo wings.

Next Sunday around 1 pm when the Pats are playing the Giants you order, say, a couple dozen buffalo wings. Then wait. With a little advertising, at least four large sized NES'rs will stop by (myself included). With the bucket of wings in the spot designated for the safe the group will naturally gather around. Provided they don't fall through your floor, I'd say you're good-to-go for 1000 lbs. easy.

Oh, don't forget the beer. Naturally, I drink light beer.

 

[tw2979]

I swear I was told that the joists are 2x6 but I could be wrong. I do know that they are set at 24 on center. It is a 2nd floor living space, so thinking about it a bit more, I agree that it does sound a bit flimsy. I might have to rethink the whole thing. The first floor is much older construction and is made up of 2x8 @ 16" on center, so it would make more sense to keep the safe on the 1st floor. I also don't really like the idea of lugging 400 to 500 lbs up a flight of steps.

Thanks for the help guys

 

[calsdad]

I swear I was told that the joists are 2x6 but I could be wrong. I do know that they are set at 24 on center. It is a 2nd floor living space, so thinking about it a bit more, I agree that it does sound a bit flimsy. I might have to rethink the whole thing. The first floor is much older construction and is made up of 2x8 @ 16" on center, so it would make more sense to keep the safe on the 1st floor. I also don't really like the idea of lugging 400 to 500 lbs up a flight of steps.

Thanks for the help guys

2x8 - 16" on center is typical construction for many houses built over the last 50 years. I think they might have updated the codes in the last 10-15 years so you would see larger sizes like 2x10 for a 12ft span. 2x6 with 24" span is pretty bad - if the upper living space is later construction the only way I can think that the floor would be 2x6-24" is if the space originally started as an attic and was finished later - or if the people doing the add on work were real hackers. Does the floor feel bouncy? With 2x6-24" I think you would definitely be able to feel significant bounce in the floor if you just jumped up and down on it.

 

[Cross-X]

Are you married? If so, that safe will probably end up just where your wife wants it. (said while ducking and running)

 

[Moderator]

Are you married? If so, that safe will probably end up just where your wife wants it. (said while ducking and running)

 

[Thor67]

If you have any access to the actual floor joists, get to them and measure.

2" x 6" is definitely not up to code, and probably never was if it's 24" OC. There are a number of things that can be done to correct this if it becomes an issue, but there typically isn't great access to the floor joists in a 2nd floor.

Could be that you just got incorrect info. when you bought the home too. Was the 2nd floor added at some point?

1st floor is the probably the way to go for the safe.

 

[tw2979]

I probably got bad info. The second floor was added on about 15 years ago. The house was originally built in 1938. Even though I've decided against putting a safe on the second floor, I'm still going to look into getting the exact specs just to know

 

[matt1956]

I also don't really like the idea of lugging 400 to 500 lbs up a flight of steps.

From a guy who just bought one... lugging 400 - 500 lbs. down a flight of stairs to the basement is no picnic either.

Are you married? If so, that safe will probably end up just where your wife wants it. (said while ducking and running)

And that is why it is in the basement.