Live loads question

[WWTEng]

I wanted to get some input on some live loads which are not specifically addressed in ASCE-7 (05)

Dorm rooms: 40 psf (Hotel-private room)+ 10 psf for good measure =50
Student lounge in a dorm building: 50 psf (same as dorm room) or should it be higher.
Conference room: Office area live load of 50 psf.
Trash collection area in a student building: 125 psf (light storage)

 

[weab]

Three of those sound good to me. Not sure what a student lounge is. Sounds like a gathering place that might require more than 40 psf.

 

[WWTEng]

Student lounge is to have a TV and some furniture. Seems more or less like a large living room to me. They also have a quite lounge, which to me sounds like a reading room with no book stacks. Again, more or less a living room.

 

[CANPRO]

Might want to go a bit higher for the conference room. I was in a conference room the other day during an office party and it was just about full...

 

[Steve1415]

The student lounge area seems like it would fall under residential public which is 100 psf.

 

[DST148]

@WWTEng : Try thread507-312421. There is a useful link to Whole Building Design Guide, which might be helpful in arriving at live loads.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

I would go for public assembly in the student lounge. What if you have a concert or there is a bad storm. Loads will skyrocket.

 

[WWTEng]

Mike,

Agreed. I was thinking about this and considering that they'll have a TV there, imagine a bunch of kids watching the Superbowl or the world series jumping up and down. 100 psf seems more appropriate. The reason for my question about the lounge was that I am dealing with an existing structure which is in remodeling. I saw an original lounge on the design documents, and when I backed off the loads from the existing joists, I came to the conclusion that they used a LL of no more then 50-52 psf.

Also, while doing some research online yesterday I saw a document from USAF where they listed the lounge LL as 60 psf. Nevertheless, 100 psf seems more appropriate under the current codes.

 

[AELLC]

The 60 psf is more of a realistic load, but the Code being what it is naturally recommends 100. When you cram people together as much as possible (we did this experiment years ago in our office), you get about 70-75 psf. That is literally close to each other as possible, as in how many people can cram into an elevator cab.

 

[WWTEng]

http://www.wbdg.org/ccb/ARMYCOE/COETM/ARCHIVES/tm_5_809_1.pdf

 

[MiketheEngineer]

You are the engineer - it is YOUR call.!!!

 

[MAeng]

I agree with Mike that it is your call but a possible way to analyze it would be to check IBC for max occupancy loads - right now it's at 5 sf per person max (used to be 3sf), choose a weight per person figure and see where that lands you.

 

[shobroco]

In Canada, the conference room is assembly occupancy & is 4.8kPa (100psf). Considering what might go on there as MiketheEngineer suggests, I think it's prudent. I have tried to rationalize 100psf in a real-life setting as AELLC suggests and it's pretty hard to do. However for new construction it's pretty easy to accomodate the higher loads, so I figure the rationalizing should be saved for existing buildings where the project is in jeopardy if retrofitting the structure gets out of hand.

 

[JLNJ]

I like 80 psf for these spaces, not unlike a second floor corridor. You might then justify not adding in for partitions. Keeps it reasonable and similar in design to adjacent spaces.