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Comics on 2nd floor of house?

Started by blake050,

28 posts in this topic

blake050

blake050

Posted
Posted

Longtime lurker and first time poster here.

 

I'm getting close to moving into a new house. My comics have been in storage the last few years, and I can't wait to get them out. I have approximately 40 long boxes. Would it be possible to keep these on the second floor of a house? I'm concerned about the weight.

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CAHokie

CAHokie

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I would see 40 boxes of comics as an insignificant amount of weight unless you are moving into a trailer or a shack. Imagine how much weight a normal bedroom contains with the bed, mattress, dressers etc.....

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CAHokie

CAHokie

Posted
Posted

Disclaimer: I am not a construction or building expert so if your collection of My Little Pony crashes through the ceiling I am not responsible!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:grin:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Speedy-D

Speedy-D

Posted
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Haha, thanks for the replies.

 

I'd guess a full longbox is about 50 lbs, so that would be about 2000 lbs. total. I'm not an architect or engineer, so just wondering if anyone else had any problems with this.

Me neither, but as others have siad, that doesn't sound like too much weight. Of course, it all depends on how your house is built. Hopefully, it's built at least moderately well. :wishluck:

 

Congrats on the new place!

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CAHokie

CAHokie

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Yes, seriously though, congrats on the house!!! If you are truly worried about the weight, you can always try to disperse it evenly. Are you trying to put them all in one closet or what is your plan?

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Speedy-D

Speedy-D

Posted
Posted
Yes, seriously though, congrats on the house!!! If you are truly worried about the weight, you can always try to disperse it evenly. Are you trying to put them all in one closet or what is your plan?

I'm picturing them all balanced on a golf tee. That might cause a bit of damage...

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MagnetoWasRight

MagnetoWasRight

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Posted

It is a legit concern, I just moved into a newly constructed home two weeks ago and had a discussion with the builder about this exact issue before we started. If this house is new, I'd speak with your builder. They will have all the answers with what type of floor braces and structural bracing your going to have. Long story short, all situations are different so seek professional advice if you can.

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ChiSoxFan

ChiSoxFan

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Posted

When I renovated my home and added a 2nd floor (part of which was a pretty extensive comic room), we took care to make sure the weight of 100+ long boxes wouldn't be a problem. For the addition, the footings were dug extra deep, and we used 2x12's for the joists to bear the extra weight. When we built the shelving to hold the books, we also anchored it to the wall to distribute the weight around.

 

As has been said already, it's going to depend on the amount of books you have, how they're being stored (stacked in one spot, spread around a room, etc.), and the construction of the house you're moving into. If you're moving a lot up the stairs, you definitely don't want to have to be lugging them back down again anytime soon. WTTB and good luck with your new comic room. (thumbs u

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Hekla

Hekla

Posted
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Technical answer - Residences are typically designed to minimally hold around 30-40 pounds per square foot 'live load'* equally distributed or about 250 pounds per square foot in concentrated amounts. Since each long box is approx. 3sf, it occupies a space that can hold 120 pounds, so 2 long boxes (60 pounds each, to make the math easy) can safely occupy that space. This assumes the whole room is filled with long boxes - for example a 10'x10' room can hold 66 long boxes (120sf / 3sf for 2 long boxes). Those long boxes can be redistributed to higher stacks as long as the weight in the room doesn't exceed the weight of 66 long boxes (including furniture). Of course if you have wall mounted shelving, that takes weight off the floors.

 

Non-technical answer - use common sense; distribute weight

 

* meaning movable weight - vs. 'dead load' which is immovable weight such as the wall, roof, etc). Building codes are different for different parts of the country, so this number can vary depending on where you live due to local factors (snow, wind, frost, soil type, etc.). Check local building codes - I am not an engineer, so don't take what I wrote as an absolute - check with a local contractor for exact weights.

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Kevin.J

Kevin.J

Posted
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Be a bit careful. The weight can make a difference:

 

Second Floor Comics

 

EDIT: Though Kevin is still posting so I guess the comics haven't crashed through to his computer room yet.

 

Yeah, I am still alive and posting lol

 

Some good advice in that thread, which I did not follow at all :facepalm:

I just shut the curtains and havent looked since :eek:

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comicdonna

comicdonna

Posted
Posted
Be a bit careful. The weight can make a difference:

 

Second Floor Comics

 

EDIT: Though Kevin is still posting so I guess the comics haven't crashed through to his computer room yet.

 

Yeah, I am still alive and posting lol

 

Some good advice in that thread, which I did not follow at all :facepalm:

I just shut the curtains and havent looked since :eek:

lol
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FlyingDonut

FlyingDonut

Posted
Posted
I would see 40 boxes of comics as an insignificant amount of weight unless you are moving into a trailer or a shack. Imagine how much weight a normal bedroom contains with the bed, mattress, dressers etc.....

 

40 long boxes of comics weighs about 1,600 pounds. You should be fine.

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