I'm renovating a second floor bath. The existing bathtub (50 gal.) is going to be replaced with a 100 gal.model. Approximately 800 pounds of water to the overflow tube in the new tub. I am concerned with the load on the first floor. The bath floor joists are 2x8 (16" oc) over 2x4 studs 16" on center. Is it ok or should I doubble-up the 2x4 studs or possibly add 1/2" or 5/8' plywood to the lower 2x4 studs?
Answer:
This is a situation where the possibility of flood has to be taken into consideration and that means whatever wood you have supporting things there may be overwhelmed by the load. I'd rather you got a structural engineer to do some calculations for you.
Courtesy of Ren Molnar, Construction Consultant at HomeFocus.com. I can also be reached at (613) 748-3003 and Home Focus phone-in is broadcast live 8 to 10 A.M. (Ottawa, Ont. time) on Saturdays on www.cfra.com.
