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Live load

Diagram of table, two chairs and two people inside a house that is 4 m by 6 m. An arrow points inside the house with the caption 'People and furniture result in live load'.Diagram of five people inside a house that is 4 m by 6 m. An arrow points inside the house with the caption 'People result in live load'.

Area of floor = 6.0 m x 4.0 m = 24 m2

Live load rating of a house = 1.5 kPa

Therefore, live load of floor = 24 m2 x 1.5 kPa = 36 kN

All unfixed items in a building such as people and furniture result in a 'live' load on the structure. Live loads are exerted in the vertical plane. Live loads are variable as they depend on usage and capacity, therefore the AS 1170 table provides allowances which are based on conservative estimates.

For example, the live load for a floor in a house is given as 1.5 kPa compared to a dance hall floor live load of 5.0 kPa. It is reasonable to expect that a dance hall would have more people in it than a house.

Live loads for floors as per building usage Uniformly distributed load kPa or kN/m2
Houses 1.5
Flats, apartments, motel bedrooms 2.0
Offices 3.0
Workshops 5.0
Parking, vehicle > 2.5 t 5.0
Hospitals, school assembly areas with fixed seating 3.0
Dance halls, bars, lounges 5.0
Table 2: Live load comparisons

Note that kPa and kN/m2 are essentially the same units.

Need more information about units of force?