Point loads for heavy sculpture

[samaudio]

Hello,
I'm making some plinths and furniture for an art gallery. They want to install a sculpture weighing 1400kg on a floor that has a max load of 6kn per m2. The floor can only have 600kg per square metre. The existing (reinforced) base of the sculpture is 1m2. (Makes it way over max load).
In order to spread the load so that it's safe, I figure I can make a low base to spread the load over 2.5m2, then it should not exceed the max load.
I'm figuring making the base from C24 timber and plywood, but do you think it needs steel plate or other materials to make sure the load is spread evenly?
Any helpful thoughts greatly appreciated.

 

[blup]

Cover your back and put the risk onto the gallery or get them to find an SE.

That said arrange the c24 plinth perpendicular to the joists to maximise the load spread. The loading presumably factors in imposed load of visitors to the gallery. I don’t see how steel plate is any better than 18mm structural ply with appropriately spaced plinth joists.

 

[jj4091]

How are they going to get it into position if it already exceeds the maximum loading, presumably the path to it's location is somehow going to have to be reinforced.

 

[samaudio]

Cover your back and put the risk onto the gallery or get them to find an SE.

That said arrange the c24 plinth perpendicular to the joists to maximise the load spread. The loading presumably factors in imposed load of visitors to the gallery. I don’t see how steel plate is any better than 18mm structural ply with appropriately spaced plinth joists.

Thanks.
Yes it might be an idea to get advice from a SE, but when I did that before they just did the calculations I'd done already and charged £400!
The building manual says that the floor can take 6kn/m2 on EVERY square metre of the space, which is big (20mx 12m). It's a serious building made of reinforced concrete, designed to take heavy loads. So I think I'll be ok.

 

[Justin Passing]

Submit your design with explanation but inform them you aren't a SE. SEs don't construct timberwork so you can't be expected to do SE's work. Ask for their approval.
THEY have to employ the SE, or pay you for contracting one.
Raise the question of how they are going to transport it!

Building managers are very good at putting all the onus on the lowest person in the chain when they don'y use a chain properly.. Building falls over, they go for the brickie because they just asked a brickie to build a suitable wall, trying to save costs, sort of thing.

 

[blup]

Thanks.
Yes it might be an idea to get advice from a SE, but when I did that before they just did the calculations I'd done already and charged £400!
The building manual says that the floor can take 6kn/m2 on EVERY square metre of the space, which is big (20mx 12m). It's a serious building made of reinforced concrete, designed to take heavy loads. So I think I'll be ok.

Remember the load capacity will be much higher the nearer they are to the wall the joists are sitting on, rather than dead centre where the bending moment/tension will be highest.

 

[samaudio]

Remember the load capacity will be much higher the nearer they are to the wall the joists are sitting on, rather than dead centre where the bending moment/tension will be highest.

Yes - it's going 1.5 metres away from an external wall, so I'm not too worried. It also has one of the building's 650x450 reinforced concrete beams, almost directly below where it's going, visible on the lower floor!

 

[mattylad]

How your going to get something that heavy upstairs would be one of my questions?
Along with, why not have it on the ground floor or outside?

 

[charliegolf]

I was taught load spreading (aircraft floors) works like this...

Ignore the sand n clay bit, I was taught the angle beta was 45 degrees through the spreading materials. So the thickness of the new base is what spreads the load.

 

[samaudio]

How your going to get something that heavy upstairs would be one of my questions?
Along with, why not have it on the ground floor or outside?

The goods lift capacity is 5 tonnes!

 

[Tigercubrider]

And transport it across the floor?
A pallet truck will have four wheels, imagine that as a point load.

 

[mattylad]

The goods lift capacity is 5 tonnes!

OH look, drip fed information