how much weight can my deck hold

how much weight can my deck hold

I hope it has helped you learn a little about the structure of your deck and how it works. A residential deck should be designed to hold 50 psf (40 psf live load and 10 psf dead load). (8.35 lbs / gallon). You must use at least five framing nails to attach the rim joist to the ends of your joists. Add to this the weight of the tub itself and any filters, pumps etc and you will have a total weight for the whole thing. The GVW includes the weight of the trailer itself, plus its payload and anything that adds to the total weight. If so, how much does that cost? Thanks for the advice. Therefore, if you have a deck beneath a roof eave where snow will slide onto, you either need to regularly clear your deck or install a roof snow guard of some type. That means that the overall structure can support a load of people, or “stuff”, of at least 40 pounds per square foot on top of your deck. I have a deck. Don't get confused with what weight you might think or want to load the deck with. Also, deck maitnance is key (waterproofing and that kind of stuff) to prevent the wood from rotting. Figuring Out How Much Your Deck Handle As a general rule of thumb, if you have a deck that’s raised only a couple feet or less, it can support about 100 pounds per square foot. tub + 3500 lbs. Eugene has been a DIY enthusiast for most of his life and loves being creative while inspiring creativity in others. This number is the footing area – but we need the diameter. Multiply each area by 50, and you have the number of pounds per square foot that each footing can hold. A key indication of your fastener load bearing capacity is what you’ve used to affix beams to joists and posts to beams. ... After adding a spa, plus water, plus people in the hot tub you can add around 6000 lbs to your deck. But our hot tub is 3900 pounds – what do we do? If you don't already have plans for the deck, draw up a sketch showing the size and spacing of bearers and joists (including the material if you can), the dimensions and materials of the decking itself and the details of how it is held up. Here is a formula you can use: H (porch weight)= 40 lbs/sqft floor live load + 25 lbs/sqft dead load + 30 lbs/sqft roof live load = 95 lbs/sqft (assuming roof over porch). Therefore, a deck of 120 square feet multiplied by 50 shows that your deck can hold 6000 pounds, including the structure. Let’s take our 12×10 example and investigate the weight capacities of different types of beams. If I'm not mistaken, usually hot tubs are sunken into decks. We’ll say the tributary load of your interior deck footing is 3000 pounds. 288/3.14 = ~96. Dividing by 5 will allow you to determine that 4500 lbs is the max live load your deck can hold. On the other hand, if you have soil that is extremely wet, all clay, or simply unstable, then it is likely your soil will not sustain the minimum of 1500 pounds as dictated by building code. The other half is supported by the footings supporting the beam. However, a properly constructed cedar deck to specs of 50 pounds per square foot will be able to hold the same amount of weight as a deck that has used typical pressure-treated wood. How much weight can a 11 7/8″ X 1 3/4″ X 20′ wooden I-Joist hold. I spent a week at a vacation house on the Russian River, and the rickety deck (about 15 feet off the ground) had a pretty large 4-person hot tub jacuzzi on it. As the weight of the tub full of water will have to be calculated in addition to however many people the deck is deemed fit for, it is highly unlikely that the deck can take the extra weight legally, unless it was over-engineered in the first place. Since a hot tub will more than likely fall into the area of just one, or maybe two, footings, we need to know that one footing can handle the weight of a hot tub. Join 6,470 readers in helping fund MetaFilter. One of our last variables in determining deck weight bearing capacity, fasteners, are arguably the most important aspect of deck construction and the most overlooked. Today we give you the short (for us) answer to this question, How much weight can a floating shelf hold? Here’s an example from deckmagazine.com: A 56-sq ft. hot tub with a dry weight of 855 lbs. Have a look underneath your deck. Let's add the dead load of 10 psf to our number and we get 111 psf in the area under the tub. In general, most decks can withstand 100 lbs per square foot. This calculator determines the size of each tributary area of your deck. It will simply ensure that the deck does not sink into the ground. What started as a small gathering ended up pretty large, and there were a lot of people on my deck. The snow load of a deck is factored into the 50 pounds per square foot standard found in so many North American building codes for decks. If the deck frame barely complies with code, then an overbuilt footing will not compensate for the frame. Take a close look at the hardware. Maximum allowable overhang cannot exceed 1/4 … While accounting for snow load in the U.P. After I completed my deck, I was proud of it and, of course, wanted to show it off to all my friends. The type of lumber used is also critical in determining how much weight your deck can hold. The average homeowner does not have the tools available to determine how much more weight your deck can hold than the … Now it is simply a matter of finding the area for each rectangle. It is cantilevered off the house and 9ft above the ground. It may cost you, but you’ll know for sure the limitations of your deck and the steps for rectifying any issues. The answer is, a lot of weight—if it is done right. Calculating a tributary load is fairly simple if you have a standard rectangular deck attached to your house. Ask MetaFilter is where thousands of life's little questions are answered. can hold 420 gallons of water and seat 6-7 people (average weight per person = 185 lbs.). water + 1295 lbs. That being said, most weight-bearing calculators for decks assume a default of 1500 pounds per square foot for soils. However, it is highly advisable not to push the 2x4 material up to its limit. If you go under this deck and find you have 3 ply 2×8 beams, then you can use a span table to determine footing placement. Simply because it is assumed that you will clear your deck prior to inviting 20 of your friends over for a beer on that deck. He is passionately interested in home improvement, renovation and woodworking. For our purposes, we’ll assume our deck is 12 feet long and 10 feet wide. Default is 50 psf which you can change. Do I need to hire a professional to do that? They will tell you exactly what the code is for that sort of thing. Soil matters. Of course, this isn’t something you’ll want to guesstimate. Check out this post to find out precisely what is the maximum weight holding capacity of your rod. Let’s say that distance is 14’. At the beginning of the article, we determined that the total live load the deck could sustain was 4500 pounds, after subtracting for the “dead” load, which is the deck structure itself. If you don't already have plans for the deck, draw up a sketch showing the size and spacing of bearers and joists (including the material if you can), the dimensions and materials of the decking itself and the details of how it is held up. Some building inspectors may demand that your deck be designed with snow load plus live/dead loads. A deck is built to hold 40 pounds per square foot as "live load", which is everything you place on the deck that can be removed. You cut a big hole in your deck, then pour a concrete foundation on the ground to support the weight of the hot tub, and drop it in. It is 10'x16', framed with pressure treated wood. On the other end, a 2x6 can support a V8 engine of between 600 – 700 lbs. It is always wise to contact a professional to get an accurate estimate of what your deck can safely handle. It means different types of soil vary in terms of how much weight they can support before whatever they are supporting sinks into the earth. In that case, you’ll need to know what the average snow load is per your geographic region – a snow load chart helps. It then determines the total load from each tributary area based on the design load of your deck. Since we are shelf geeks and own a company that manufactures floating shelves, this is an easy one for us. So a 100 sqft deck would be designed to support 5000 lbs. It is also not as strong, which will result in potentially more footings since cedar cannot span the same distances as pressure-treated wood such as SPF or SYP. On, not in. There are many, many factors that affect how much weight your deck can hold. That number is simply a minimum requirement. In the case of our deck, we have footings every 4’. We’ll have to install another footing beneath the beam. I highly suggest hiring a professional to check it out. There is no specific amount of weight that each weight plate can support, however they can only hold up to 10. Generally, we’re talking about 50 pounds per square foot. So I think I'm going to get a pro out there to spec it out. Advice for building a back yard cabin,... Atlanta MeFites: Contractor recommendations required! There are many variables when it comes to calculating deck load capacity. To determine the maximum load capacity of your deck, start by calculating its total area and multiply by 50 psf. Divide that distance in half. Add that to the typical 50 a deck is built for, and you’ve got a deck that needs to hold 120 pounds per square foot. If you look at the joist span tables above, it doesn’t take long to see that SYP is stronger than the other lumber species. Help me make my curtains as noiseproof as possible. If that is the case, you could have the strongest deck frame in the world, but bad soil will cause your deck to sink under loads that the frame of your deck is designed to support. Also, some of the most highly durable skateboard trucks have weight limits of 250 lbs. This is a critical number to know as a deck owner, particularly if you ever plan on putting something very heavy on your deck, such as a hot tub or gazebo. Draw a rectangle from that point up to the first line halfway between the house and beam. That number is simply a minimum requirement. For instance, if you know the dead load of the deck will be less than the prescriptive 10 lb., then you can select 5 lb. The type of load in question will also determine how much weight a 2x6 can hold on edge. All posts copyright their original authors. The joists are 2"x12" over 20ft, 16" on center ; The framing under the deck is typical 2"x4" framing (living space), on a concrete foundation; The deck was built in 1980 up to code. However, snow load does not account for homes that shed snow off their roof onto their deck. The next portion is to figure out how much weight this footing is going to hold. But decks 2 feet or higher will need added support. Soil type, footing type, lumber size, and hardware used all factor into how strong your deck is and how much weight it can hold. Remember that pi x diameter equals a circle’s area. Aimee Ann on June 7, 2018 at 4:04 pm I have a 2nd story rec room, measuring 24×18 in … Wondering how much weight can a tension rod hold? If only nails were used, without hardware of any type, then you might want to think twice before placing an 8000-pound hot tub on your deck. Let’s change that area of 2 square feet into inches. If you want to host a large party on your deck but still aren’t sure if it can handle the weight, it’s best to contact a building engineer. The American Wood Council states that cantilevers are limited to 1/4 the span of the joists. Knowing your soil type is just as important. However, you can determine if your deck is overbuilt, which can give you an idea of how much more weight your deck can hold. The three major types of wood species used in deck construction are Southern Yellow Pine (SYP), some combination of Spruce, Pine, and Fir (SPF), and Redwood, Western Cedar, or Red Pine. How much weight/ How many people can my rooftop deck hold? If your footing is 24” sonotube, then it is more than strong enough to support your deck. Many building departments limit joist cantilevers to 24" maximum. There’s no official skateboarding weight limit, but the quality of the board you buy will affect how much weight it can bear before it gives way. Weight. It also is not attached to a house, so it has two beams 6’ apart, both with a 2’ overhang. To safely install a roof deck, the roof needs to be able to support about 55 pounds of weight per square foot in general. A 3 ply 2×8 beam for a deck with a width of 10’ allows for a maximum span of 6’. The gross vehicle weight (GVW) is how much the trailer and its payload weighs together. My favorite storage solution is to shove more and more stuff “up in the rafters.” And that got me thinking… how much weight can my roof trusses take? Afterward, I began to wonder how much weight can a deck hold? Why? The … Trex claims it supports 100 pounds per square foot, although that number is not based on any specified criteria for a deck structure. But what does that mean? That means more footings and/or larger dimensional lumber, 12” o.c. As always, thanks for taking the time to read this article. When you add a spa or hot tub to a deck you are adding a lot of weight. Make the investment now to ensure you have a sturdy deck lest you get screwed later on. I went through the permits, but was not able to find a weight rating in there. If your deck is built on bedrock, gravel, or even sand, then you’ll have a higher – and potentially even a much higher – soil bearing capacity. It would be difficult to verify every last detail of your deck structure to ensure it is up to code, particularly the thickness of concrete footings and soil type. Calculating tributary loads is not difficult, as long as you have a diagram of your deck’s framing structure. The thickness of concrete is an important factor in load-bearing strength, but to conserve resources and avoid over-building, other factors are also taken into consideration. Therefore if you have a hot tub that weighs 4500 pounds, that doesn’t mean your deck can support it since that weight is only in a concentrated area. That way, the weight is divided amongst three footings. Or, we can place the hot tub where two or three tributary load areas intersect. And it does not really matter because the frame of a Trex deck is what supports the deck, not the deck boards; therefore, a Trex deck is no stronger than a lumber deck. Like anywhere from 25lbs to well over 300lbs. To calculate the load, you should use 40lbs per square foot for live loads (these are variable loads that are dynamic such as the weight of people and furniture) and 15 lbs per square foot for dead loads (this is the weight of the materials used for the construction of the deck) for a … It is only slightly stronger than SPF lumber or Redwood and Wesetern Cedar. Can you put a hot tub on a deck? On the other hand, if you build in a ground-snow load that exceeds 40 psf, then you can enter your snow load in the “Live Load” field to size a joist span to handle heavy snow. Most decks will hold more – sometimes significantly more – than 50 pounds per square foot. Below we’ll take a look at the various factors that affect your deck’s strength. Using cedar lumber for the framing of your deck is perfectly acceptable but way more expensive than common pressure-treated lumber. Then find the square root, and multiply times 2. Just as 50 pounds per square foot is the minimum weight capacity for a deck built to code, so too is soil bearing capacity. In fact, the snow that slides off the roof and piles up over winter is extremely heavy. If you drove a dump truck over it, yes this would throw all our calculations out the window. If you are not sure if your deck is built to code, then fortunately you can still determine how much weight your deck can hold. We get just over 19” for our footing diameter. In short there’s no one right answer to “how much can my deck hold?” However, one rule of thumb to keep in mind while answering the question is that the answer commonly is that if a deck is properly designed, it’s built to hold 50 lbs. Such calculations would hold if, for instance, the load is square. This is for soils that are a mix of loam, silt, and clay, which also happens to be one of the weaker types of soil. For example, a 2x4 lumber may hold a 4-cylinder engine comfortably but may not hold a bigger one. If your deck was built to code and the appropriate permits were pulled and signed off on, then it is entirely likely your deck holds a minimum of 50 pounds per square foot. The gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) is the maximum amount of weight the trailer is able to safely hold and transport, as rated by the manufacturer. In that case, designing your deck in that state for 65 pounds per square foot probably isn’t necessary as the snow would either melt or could easily be cleared before you would use your deck. I want to know how much weight my deck can support. A well-made maple skateboard deck may hold around 220 lbs, but it is still likely to snap if you land incorrectly. You’ll measure the distance from the ledger board to the center of the support beam and draw a line. Here’s the official answer: Unless you have “storage trusses” specifically engineered for extra weight, you shouldn’t store anything in them. Decks built ground level up to 2 feet off the ground can support up to 100 lbs per square foot; sufficient for most hot tubs. If we have just four footings of 1 sqft under the tube creating four rought equal tributary areas of 16 sqft each footing will have to carry 16x111 lbs or 1776 lbs over our 1 sqft footing and we have 1776 psf But as mentioned above – an overbuilt footing still depends on a properly constructed deck frame. If you want to actually put people in that hot tub, you’ll need to reinforce your deck. Luckily, we now know how to calculate those loads since we did it a few paragraphs above. Lastly, we’ll take a look at the different types of lumber you can use for your deck and how it will affect the weight capacity of the overall structure. When we built a deck-expansion onto our house, we also got a fairly large spa. How does this affect load-bearing capacity? I can now safely assume that my deck can hold much more than 50 pounds per square foot, as indicated by the deck span chart. The amount of weight that each individual footing can hold is called the tributary load. Curious if your deck’s footings are up to code? For instance, a deck built on bedrock will have a bearing capacity of nearly 12,000 pounds per square foot. Log in to Reply. So, what’s the load capacity of a standard deck? You’ll also have to know the type of lumber used – in this case it is SPF since we are up north. One square foot has 144 square inches – so for us it’s 288 square inches. However, if you are using post to beam connectors, joist hangers, and hurricane ties to support your structure, then standard 10d nails are just fine – the hardware itself will provide most of the support. Thanks guys... my ladies really want to start hot tubbin' nightly and I want to indulge them, and myself. total weight. Here’s what I’ve discovered: Yes, you can put a hot tub on a deck. First, you divide the tributary load of 1500 – the weight-bearing capacity of the default soil type used to determine building codes. To calculate the weight of the deck, I’ll use a 10×10 deck for this example. If your deck is built to code, then it is designed to hold a minimum of 50 pounds per square foot, of which ⅘ of that total is the “live” load. The Spa itself if friggin heavy (to the extent of needing to use a crane to lift it onto a 2nd-story deck). 855 lb. Again, knowing your deck lumber species can allow you to see if your deck is overbuilt. Now you have an area for each footing. But keep in mind those are just estimates. Absolutely, but we’ve got to know how much weight each of our footings can handle. SYP lumber can span 10’ – 2’ more than the other species. Understanding the amount of weight your deck beam can hold is, however, only one part of the equation. So, if the spa is less than 100 pounds per square foot you likely have nothing to worry about. Figure out how much weight each of our footing beneath the beam of weight beams 6’,. But we’ve got to know the type of lumber used – in this case it is simply a matter finding. 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