Weight of house

[chrisbrowning]

What is the approximate weight of the 12 X 18 small house?

[glenn kangiser]

That could vary quite a bit Chris - but using dry wood as walls and siding, similar weight for roof - wood floor excluding foundation, I would make a wild guess at 12000 to 15000 lbs -  

1941 Marks Engineering Manual tables
Air Dry                Lbs cu ft
Douglas Fir         32
Southern Pine    38-42
Oregon Pine       32
Asphaltum          81
Gypsum              159
Concrete            144

[Jimmy C.]

When I was building my post and beam foundation, I noticed a huge wieght difference in the freshly treated lumber of the same size.
Most of the 16 ft 2x12s I could handle alone.
Some of them I needed help to move.
I even had to let them dry out for a few days before I installed them, worried about the shrinkage.

[glenn kangiser]

Wash your hands before you eat, Jimmy.  That stuff is not good for you.  Also read MSDS hazards information that they typically don't provide you with your treated wood.

The weights of the house above would increase a lot if sheetrock was used on the interior also.  Check out the weight per cu ft difference.

Also I just did a rough estimate on the weight calcs - kind of a rule of thumb on the walls -interior walls - roof - floor .  Took about ten minutes - someone spending more time may come up with a different weight but material differences -Jimmy's wet wood, sheet rock instead of wood, light wood paneling, stucco etc. can all make big changes.

[Shelley]

I'm so curious Chris and no one else has asked.  Why do you care?  

[chrisbrowning]

"You know, everyone started somewhere. There is no "carpentry gene".  Nice to know there's a place where someone can ask a question and not get pounced upon"- this was stated by YOU shelley in another of your comment sections.


Besides I just can't get over the fact that a few  pier blocks and the beams can support all that weight. I am sure many novices that have read the forums have wanted to ask that very question.  The best way to learn is to swallow your ego and ask questions. The more questions you ask the smarter one will be.

[Shelley]

Sorry if you thought I was being snotty.  Wasn't.
Just curious.  Thought maybe you wanted to make it portable or something.  Maybe put it on skids.

Trouble with typing is that you can't hear tone of voice.

[glenn kangiser]

Knowing Shelley, I think she was just interested in why you wanted to know.  It was interesting to me also.  That's why I made the estimate.  

Normal ground bearing pressures are about 2000 lbs per square foot, Chris.  A 2'x2' footing would then support about 8000 lbs.  Per Ryan B. in another section of this forum if I remember right wood will support about 1000 lbs weight per square inch making a 4"x4"  at 3.5"x3.5" actual size good to support 12000 lbs.

Unfortunately with the Internet forum being in 2D it is hard to understand a persons intent when asking a question.  I find that everyone on this forum has good intentions.  That's why we all get along so well.  ---Except for me-- I'm usually crude and rude and fail to censor myself but there is no malicious intent.  Please feel free to ask any questions you want.  There are no stupid questions.  Maybe some stupid answers.

[chrisbrowning]

Shelley-no problem. Making it portable did go thru my mind. Skids would be necessary for this. But then on second thought since this is my first house to build did not want to venture too far from John's plans.

Glenn- thank you very much for all your input and time answering my endless questions. Basically everything I have read that you have written has been very informative.

[Jimmy C.]

Maybe it should have been worded. For what reason are you asking about the weight? Are you thinking about making it portable?

We are all from different parts of the globe and sometimes the way things are presented and perceived causes conflict. I think this because of the differences in local dialect. I am from Mississippi and my wife is from Wisconsin. You want to talk about miscommunication at times?
 
I knew what Shelly was trying to say , but I did think it might come across the wrong way.

I try to use the smile's to help with my emotion about my statements sometimes.

I can assure you that I have never seen a rude comment about anything on this board since I began visiting it a few months ago.

This type of thing is why I do not email with my ex-wife anymore!

Was that too personal?     Sorry...

[glenn kangiser]

Note that as punishment for getting information from me, you will be forced to put up with my crude sense of humor sometimes. :-/  

[Epiphany]

Yes - I too thought you were thinking about a house on wheels.  Had a picture of the Tumbleweed houses in my mind.

[John Raabe]

There is a large difference between the actual weight of a house at any given time and the design weight of the same structure. Houses hardly ever reach their design weight in reality.

That said, it is usually the design load you are interested in as that is what the foundation must hold up without sinking into the soil.

Even low grade soils can have a bearing capacity of 2000 lbs/SF. In good soils this can go to 8K and beyond.

So it doesn't take too large a footing area to support the design load of the 12x18 cottage which might run 80 to 90 psf total with light snow load (more in heavy snow country). The actual weight might be less than 25% of that for an empty house going down the road.