Warehouse Floor Load Bearing Capacity

When loading a floor with tons of equipment the actual capacity per square foot must be known in advance.

Warehouse floor load bearing capacity. For example a floor joist at 16 spacing s that can carry 53 pounds per linear foot would translate into a 318 pound single point load at its center. Simply a floor slab functions to distribute without deformation or cracking the loads applied to it to the weaker sub grade below in the case of a ground bearing slab or to the piles supporting it if designed as a suspended ground slab and to provide a suitable wearing surface upon which the operations in the facility may be carried out. This floor has a bearing capacity of two tons per square meter. Another factor that influences the design and specification of ground bearing concrete floors is the nature of the load that they have to support.

Floors are engineered to carry a maximum static load and a maximum dynamic load that can t be exceeded without the risk of compromise to the structure. The typical floor is often half foot thick concrete and has a capacity of 25 000 pounds. Floor load capacity is the total maximum weight a floor is engineered to support over a given area. Don t install a mezzanine or other heavy equipment in your distribution center or warehouse without knowing the exact floor and ground.

The pallets generate point loads on the floor via the beams frames and the uprights. If it is non specific human occupancy for example it is assumed that a nominal load is applied to the floor and the only criterion is the need to create a relatively flat surface that rests on the. Typical vehicle operating at floor level is a pallet transporter hand truck or trailer often having maximum 3 tons capacity and small load carrying polyurethane wheels. Floor surfaces on which this equipment operates are typically flat and level.

A uniform load rating on a beam can easily be translated into what an equivalent maximum point load can be. With an evenly distributed live load of 30 psf which the tables show the floor is able to support the total weight on the floor would be about 3 360 pounds. Small and hard wheel contact surface generate high local pressure on the floor surface. Increasing the total weight on the floor to 4 480 pounds however results in a live load of 40 psf which is beyond the floor s load capacity.