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kelli_ga

Is my subfloor strong enough for these projects?

2 years ago

I need to install a stacked washer/dryer, a soaking bathtub, a refrigerator, and porcelain tile planks on a plywood subfloor. Is my subfloor strong enough for these projects, or does it need to be reinforced?

The subfloor is on wood joists on a piers foundation. (There are cinderblock column supports in many places in the crawl space under the floor.) There are 2 layers of plywood (5/8” and 1/2”) separated by a black fabric liner of some sort. The wood joists are on 16” centers. The crawl space had been encapsulated with thick plastic and a dehumidifier. In general, the house appears to be solid, although I do feel vibrations when a large vehicle passes by on the road over 100’ away.

Here is my guess as to the loads:

  • refrigerator max 400 lbs (54lbs/sf) short end spans joists
  • stacked laundry 400 lbs (80lbs/sf) long end spans joists
  • tub full 1000 lbs (100lbs/sf) long end spans joists
  • tile is 36x6x5/16“ porcelain planks, over 1/4” hardibacker and some sort of liquid membrane to absorb movement, tile will be laid parallel with joists but 3x5’ hardibacker can go either way

I tried to find a calculator to determine how much weight can be supported, but all I found was a plywood load capacity calculator. If I tell the calculator I have 1” thick plywood, it says it can support 100lbs/sf. There is no reference to joists or any other factors. I don’t know if 5/8” plus 1/2” will provide as much support as 1” thick plywood. Here is what I found:

https://calculator.academy/plywood-load-capacity-calculator

Questions:

  1. Do I have to reinforce the floor for the fridge or stacked washer/dryer? (They vibrate.)
  2. Do I have to reinforce the floor for the soaking bathtub?
  3. How should the floor be reinforced from underneath? (I can add something to top of subfloor for tub, but not fridge or laundry - those will be on tile unless I get some sort of pad to put them on.)
  4. Any extra tips for laying tile? I have done it before with hardibacker on plywood subfloor, but not at this scale and not with a antifracture membrane. I will look at laticrete hydroban for that.

Thanks for any tips!

Comments (3)

  • 2 years ago

    Impossible to tell from your post as there is too much missing info. Age of house. One story or two story house. Main girder or full width floor joists. Floor Joist size. Pier size. Pier spacing. Loading from above.

    kelli_ga thanked millworkman
  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Thank you. I can’t answer all those questions. I plan to have a framing carpenter here for other jobs - hopefully he can assess all that if the subfloor is not obviously strong enough.

    The house was built in 1989, cape cod style, 1.5 stories, steep roof. The 2nd story loft is over part of the affected areas and supported by other close walls (closets, bathroom). The tub is alongside an exterior wall. I’d have to go into the crawl space to measure the other stuff.

    There is an existing tub and laundry. I want to move and stack the washer/dryer, and make sure that the tub will be OK when filled. The fridge I am not too worried about. I think the tile will be OK based on the other info I’ve collected.

    I had assumed that the subfloor under the stacked laundry and tub would need to be reinforced. What is the best and easiest way to do that?

    UPDATE: Joists are 7.5”. Here are a couple of pics from our temporary crawl space access, showing exterior wall with brick skirt and one of the cinderblock columns which I’m guessing are the piers. The crawl space is messy because the subfloor has rotted and not been replaced yet. All of that (plus the door) is will hopefully be fixed by the framing carpenter. (It is dry now and has been protected with new gutters, tyvek and loose cement boards.)




    You can’t see it in these photos, but the adjacent joist is resting on the cinderblock column.

    UPDATE 2: If there is a cinderblock column under the tub, do you think that would provide enough support? The tub starts about 8’ away from the cinderblock column in the photo, along the exterior wall. So if I go down into the crawl space, I might find another cinderblock column somewhere under the tub against the back exterior wall.

  • PRO
    2 years ago

    Don't confuse subfloor with your joists as far as supporting weight. Together, they form a structural support. The most important thing to resist deflection is going to be the joist span and height. You've already said they are 16" on center, which is much better for stiffness than 24" on center. Enter in your numbers here: Deflectolator

    kelli_ga thanked DeWayne