ABeginner'sGuidetoASCE705

Chapter3D:DeadLoads
2007,T.BartlettQuimby

Overview
Section3.2
TypicalUnit
AreaDeadLoad TypicalUnitAreaDeadLoadCalculations
Calcuations
LastRevised:11/04/2014
Homework
Problems Computingtheunitdeadloadforaregionofsurfaceareagenerallystartsbyidentifying
theregionofaroofplan,floorplan,orelevationwheretheunitloadisneededthen
References lookingatatypicalsectionofthatareatoseehowitisconstructed.Oncethe
componentsofthesystemhavebeenidentified,aweightiscomputedforeachitem.
Thetotalunitdeadloadisthesumofthecomponentweightsplusa"miscellaneous"
ReportErrorsor
factortoaccountofminoritemsnotincludedspecificallyinthecalculation.
Make
Suggestions AFloorSystemExample

GiventhefloorsectionshowninFigure3.2.1,determinetheunitdeadloadforthe
regionthathasthisconstruction.Thefloorsystemisinanofficebuildingthatislikely
toseereconfigurationofinteriorpartitionsoverthecourseofit'slife.

Figure3.2.1
FloorSystemSection

Determinetheweightsofthevariouscomponents:

Carpet&Pad:Thereisawidevarietyofcarpet&padouttherewithawide
varietyofweights.Inthiscase,sincethecarpetandpadweightislikelytobe
smallwithrespecttosomeoftheothercomponents,wecanbealittle
conservativewithoutmakingasignificantimpactonthedesign.Letsuse3psf
forthecarpetandpad.
ConcreteonDeck:Thedeckingmanufacturerprovidesweighttablesfortheir
product.Inthiscase,theweightis35psf.
 SteelJoists:A36LH07steeljoistweighsapproximately16lbsperlinealfoot
accordingtotheSteelJoistInstituteliterature.Thetributarywidthofthejoistsis
5'10",sotheweightperfloorareaequals16lb/ft/5.8333ft=2.74psf
LightweightSuspendedCeiling:Accordingtoonereference,ametal
suspensionsystemwithtilesweighsabout1.8psf.We'llusethat.
Misc.Loading:Weexpectthattherewillbemisc.lightfixturesintheceiling,
wiring,andminorplumbing,sowewillselectavaluebetween1psfand2psfthat
willgiveusanintegervalueforthetotalload.

Table3.2.1summarizesthecalculation:

Table3.2.1
FloorSystemDeadLoad

FloorDeadLoadCalculation
Carpet&Pad 3.00 psf
Conco/stldeck 35.00 psf
Joists
wt/ft 16.00 plf
spacing 5.83 ft
JstWt 2.74 psf
Ceiling 1.80 psf
Misc 1.46 psf
TotalUnitWeight 44 psf

Notethatthiscalculationdoesnotincludetheweightofanygirdersorotherstructure
thatisinthefloorsystem.Todeterminethetotalweightofthesystem,youneedto
addintheotheritemsthatareapartofit.

ARoofSystemExample

Figure3.2.2showsaroofsectionforwoodframedresidentialroofsystem.Includea
reroofingallowancewhencomputingthedesigndeadload.

Figure3.2.2
WoodFramedRoofSystemSection
Determinetheweightsofthevariouscomponents.Rememberthatwewanttohave
theloadsexpressedintermsofweightpersquarefootofhorizontalareasowehaveto
convertslopedsurfaces.ThisisasimpletrigonometryproblemasshowninFigure
3.2.3.Thecorrectionfactorequal1/cos.Forourparticularproblem,theslopeangle
equalsthearctangentof(8/12)or33.7degrees.Thecorrectionfactorbecomes1.20.

Figure3.2.3
SlopeCorrection

AsphaltShingles:Theshinglesweigh2.5lbspersquarefootofsurfacearea.
Weneedtoconvertthistoweightonahorizontalprojectedarea,sotheshingle
weightbecomes2.5psftimes1.2or3.0psf.Thisincludestheroofingfeltthat
underliestheshingles.
ReroofingAllowance:Thisequalstheoriginalroofingweightof3.0psf.
1/2"WoodSheathing:Mostwoodproductsweighabout35lbpercubicfoot,
sotheweightof1/2"ofwoodweighsabout35pcftimestheratio0.5"/12",
resultinginaweightofapproximately1.5psf.
Trusses:Asthetrusseshaveprobablynotbeendesignedyet(theseareoften
donebythetrussmanufacturerwhiletheprojectisunderconstruction)weneed
tomakeareasonableapproximation.Experiencewouldsuggestthatthetopand
bottomchordsaremadefrom2x6materialandthewebmembersfrom2x4
material.Thetopchordandwebmembersareslopedandrequireslope
correctionwhilethebottomchorddoesnot.Inthiscasewewillestimatethe
weightbyaddingthetopchordweight(2x6timesslopecorrection),theweb
members(2x4timessameslopecorrection),andthebottomchordtogetherto
getaunitweightof3.26psf.
Insulation:Insulationcomesinvariousweights.Youneedtoconsultwiththe
architectonthisormakeaconservativeestimate.Onesourceputsbattinsulation
at0.1psf/into0.2psf/in.Wewillusethelargertogetaunitweightof2.4psf.
Notethatthereisnoslopecorrectiontobeappliedheresincetheinsulationis
alreadyonahorizontalsurface.
GypsumWallBoard(GWB)&VaporBarrier:Normallythereisnoaddition
forthevaporbarrierbecauseit'sweightissosmallcomparedtothe
miscellaneousvalue.TheGWB(orsheetrock)isheavy.Onesourceput5/8"
thickGWBat2.8psfsothatiswhatwewilluse.
 Miscellaneous:Thisroofsystemalsohaswindbracingattheendtrusses,
blockingatthesupports,andminorwiring.Wewilluseavaluebetween1.5and
2.5toaccountforthisextrastuff.

Table3.2.2summarizesthecalculation:

Table3.2.2
RoofSystemDeadLoad

RoofDeadLoadCalculation
Slope/12 Flat Slopefact Adjusted
AsphaltShingles 8 2.5 1.20 3.00 psf
Reroofing 3.00 psf
1/2"PlywdSheathing 8 1.5 1.20 1.80 psf
Trusses@24"O.C.
2x6TopChord 8 1.1 1.20 1.32 psf
2x4Web 8 0.7 1.20 0.84 psf
2x6BtmChord 0 1.1 1.00 1.10 psf
Insulation 0 3.6 1.00 3.60 psf
5/8"GWB 0 2.8 1.00 2.80 psf
Misc 1.52 psf
TotalUnitWeight 19.00 psf

IfyoulookcloselyattherightsideoftheroofsectionshowninFigure3.2.2,youwill
noticethattheroofframingisdifferent.Thismeansthattheaverageunitdeadload
computedherereallyonlyappliestowherethesetrussesare.Aseparatecalculationis
requiredforroofareasthatdon'tmatchtheoneforwhichwedidthecalculation.

InteriorWallExample

Figure3.2.4showsawallsectionforlightgagesteelframedwallsystem.

Figure3.2.4
TypicalInteriorWallSection


Determinetheweightsofthevariouscomponents:

GWB:Thewallhastwolayersof1/2"GWB,eachweighing2.2psf.Thetotal
weightofGWBonthewallis4.4psf.
SteelStuds:Themanufacturerswebsitesaysthatthecrosssectionalareaaway
fromcutoutsequals0.513in2forthisstud.Sincesteelweighsabout492pcf,
thisequatesto1.75plfforthestud.Thisisconservativesinceitdoesnot
accountforthecutouts.Thestudsareplacedat16inchesO.C.(oncenter),
givingusaweightof1.31lbspersquarefootofwall.
Miscellaneous:Thewallislikelytoseeminorweightfromelectricalwiring,but
notmuchelse.Wewillchoseamiscellaneousloadthatisbetween1psfand2
psf.

Notethatwehavenotaccountedfordooropeningorwindows.Theseitemsusually
weightnearorlesspersquarefootofwallthanthemainpartofthewall.Usingthe
averagevaluecomputedhereisusuallycloseenoughwithoutbeingoverly
conservative.Ifyouhaveopeningwithoutdoorsorwindows,thensubtractthose
areasfromyourwallweightcalculation.

Youshouldconsultthearchitecturaldrawingsfortheprojecttoseeifthereareany
otherwallcoveringsbeingadded,suchaspanelingorsoundboard.Ifthereareother
items,thesemustbeaddedinaswell.

Table3.2.3summarizesthecalculation:

Table3.2.3
InteriorWallDeadLoad

InteriorWallDeadLoadCalculation
 1/2"GWB 2.20 psf
StlStuds 1.31 psf
1/2"GWB 2.20 psf
Misc 1.29 psf
TotalUnitWeight 7 psf