Typical live loads of different types of buildings. Handy information for civil or structural engineers.

Self contained dwelling units;   1.5 kN per meter squared.

For public buildings where there is a tendency for many people to be in the building at once. For example;boarding houses, lodging houses, guest houses, hostels, residential clubs and communal areas in blocks of flats Boiler rooms, motor rooms, fan rooms and the like including the weight of machinery;  7.5kN per meter squared.

Communal kitchens, laundries;  3.0kN per meter squared.

Dining rooms, lounges, billiard room ; 2.0kN per meter squared.

Toilet Rooms; 2.0kN per meter squared.

Bedroom, Dormitories; 1.5kN per meter squared.

Corridors, hallways, stairs, landings, footbridges; 3.0kN per meter squared.

 Hotels and motels Boiler rooms, motor rooms, fan rooms and the like, including the weight of machinery ;  7.5kN per meter squared.

Assembly areas without fixed seating, dance halls, Bar; 5kN per meter squared.

Assembly areas with fixed seating;4kN per meter squared..

Corridors, hallways, stairs, landings, footbridges, etc; 4kN per meter squared..

Kitchen Laundries; 3kN per meter squared.

Dining rooms, lounges, billiard room; 2kN per meter squared.

Bedrooms., Toilet rooms ; 2kN per meter squared.

Here are strength of some common building materials based on BS 648. This is useful information for civil/structural engineers

Asphalt 

Roofing 2 layers; 19 mm thick,  42 kg per meter square.

Damp-proofing; 19 mm thick, 41 kg per meter square.

Roads and footpaths; 19 mm thick 44 kg per meter square.

Bitumen roofing felts 

Mineral surfaced bitumen;     3.5 kg per meter square.

Blockwork 

Solid per 25 mm thick stone aggregate ;  55 kg per meter square.

Aerated per 25 mm thick;        15 kg per meter square.

Board

Blockboard per 25 mm thick;   12.5 kg per meter square.

Brickwork 

Clay, solid per 25 mm thick;     55 kg per meter square

Medium density Concrete, solid per 25 mm thick;   59 kg per meter square.

Cast stone;  2250 kg per meter cubic.

Concrete 

Natural aggregates;   2400 kg per meter cubic.

Lightweight aggregates (structural); 1760 + 240/ −160 kg per meter cubic.

Flagstones 

Concrete 50 mm thick;   120 kg meter square.

Glass fibre 

Slab, per 25 mm thick; 2.0–5.0 kg meter square.

Gypsum panels and partitions 

Building panels 75 mm thick;    44 kg meter square.

Lead 

Sheet, 2.5 mm thick;    30 kg per meter square.

Linoleum 

3 mm thick; 6 kg per meter square.

Plaster

Two coats gypsum; 13 mm thick;    22 kg per meter square.

Plastics sheeting (corrugated);   4.5 kg per meter square.

Plywood

per mm thick;    0.7 kg meter square.

Reinforced concrete;     2400 kg meter cubic.

Rendering 

Cement: sand (1:3), 13 mm thick;   30 kg per meter square.

Screeding 

Cement: sand (1:3), 13 mm thick; 30 kg per meter square.

Slate tiles 

(depending upon thickness and source);  24–78 kg per meter cubic .

Steel 

Solid (mild); 7850 kg per meter cubic.

 Corrugated roofing sheets; 10 kg per meter square per mm thick.

Tarmacadam ;

25 mm thick 60 kg per meter square.

Terrazzo; 

 25 mm thick 54 kg per meter square.

Tiling, roof 

Clay; 70 kg per meter square.

Timber 

Softwood;  590 kg per meter cubic .

Hardwood; 1250 kg per cubic meter.

Water; 1000 kg per meter cubic.

Woodwool

 Slabs; 25 mm thick 15 kg per meter square.

Note: to convert to Newtons per millimeter square; Multiply the amount in kg by 10 and then divide by 1000

Concrete is a mixture of water, sand, stones and cement. It hardens to a stone like mass within a few days. Concrete  is highly strong and durable with a life span of about 50yrs.

Concrete is a major constituent of modern building structures. Many houses, roads,bridges, skyscrapers are constructed using concrete.

Grade of Concrete

Grade of concrete refers to the strength and quality of concrete. The grade of concrete typically depends on;

1. The type  of constituent  materials used for making the concrete.
2. Mixing ratio of the materials; the amount of cement being a very important factor.

Concrete grades are usually designated with the letter C followed by its typical strength at 28 days.

For instance, a Concrete grade mix of C7.5 means that it has a strength of 7.5 N/mm2 after 28days. This type of concrete is only useful for light weight loading.

On the other hand a concrete grade mix of 25N/mm2 is a heavy duty concrete containing dense aggregate.  This grade of concrete is what is acceptable for reinforced concrete works. The mix for this grade is 1 part  of cement to 2 parts of fine aggregates (sand) to 4 parts of coarse (stone) aggregates. Mix ratio 1:2:4