Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 12/11/2008

Question
We want to put a home office on the second floor of our house.  The room has an outside wall and a wall that is slightly offset from the wall below.  The other two walls are over an open space of a large room below on the first floor.  The house was built in 1994.  We want to put in an "L" shaped desk with a hutch over one side, one tall and one short bookcase, and a two drawer lateral file with three shelves over it.
Would this be more than a safe weight for such a situation?

Thanks for any advice!

Answer
Hi Lin, you didn't tell me how big the hutch is because that would determine how many pounds per sq. foot the unit is putting on the floor system.  Generally speaking, furniture that is close to a bearing wall is sitting on the strongest part of the joist.  The closer to the middle of the joist the weaker it is. I don't see a problem unless your joists are way undersized. Say your hutch has a foot print of 1'-6" x 4'-0" that is a total of 6 sq. feet.  If your floor is capable of sustaining a 60 pound per square foot live load that's nearly 400 pounds.  I hope this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com