View Single Post
  #2  
Old 08/14/2004, 10:21 PM
BeanAnimal BeanAnimal is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 11,710
I am not an engineer but the only not of wisdom I would give you is this...

In modern contruction, the floors are stacked on top of each other. In other words, the joists ends rest upon a "wall" or "sill plate" BRick is then added as a veneer (it is not structural)

In many older homes the brick is the structure! It is the shell of the building, and the floors joists are nailed to stringers that are nailed or lagged to the brick.

In other words in new construction, placing a 10,000 pound barbell on the outside wall of a room is the strongest safest place for it. The weight is held by the exterior wall. In an older brick house, the weight is held by a stringer nailed to the wall. If the weight is moved to the middle of the floor, the weight is more evenly distributed to the other stringers on the other walls.

Ever notice how buckeled warped and uneven older building floors are? Sometimes inches difference! Do you *really* think that carpenters 80 years ago were that poor with a level or stringline?

IN any cae, I thinlk you will find that the floor will be just fine for the load you are talking about.

Just food for thought.

Bean