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Live Loads (Imposed Loads) on Buildings - Structville

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Live loads are loads produced from the use and occupancy of a building. They include the loads from human occupancy, furniture, vehicles, anticipated rare events
such as the gathering of people and stacking of materials, moveable machines and equipment, storage, maintenance activities, etc. The values of live load for each
type of building are usually defined by the codes of practice, and that is why the use of any structure must be defined before the design is commenced.

Live loads on floors of buildings are defined by a uniformly distributed load, line load, and concentrated load, which, however, must not be applied simultaneously.
The uniformly distributed load is used for all global verifications and general designs, while the concentrated load is usually adopted for local verifications. Floor
loadings which are made up of live loads and dead loads are combined for the design of slabs and floors.

Live loads are measured in pounds per square foot (psf) in the United States of America, while they are typically measured in kilo Newtons per square meter
(kN/m2) in the UK and much of Europe. Sometimes, environmental loads, such as wind loads, are treated separately from live loads.

According to EN 1991-1-1:2002, imposed loads should be taken into account as quasi-static actions. However, dynamic effects may be included in the load models if
there is no risk of resonance or other significant dynamic response from the structure. If resonance effects from the synchronised rhythmic movement of people or
dancing or jumping may be expected, the load model should be determined for special dynamic analysis.

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Typical live loads on the floor of a public building

Categories of Buildings
To determine the imposed loads, floor and roof areas in buildings should be subdivided into categories according to their use (see Table 1). Areas in residential,
social, commercial and administrative buildings shall be divided into categories according to their specific uses shown in Table 6.1 of EN 1991-1-1:2002.

Category Specific Use Example

Rooms in residential buildings and houses; bedrooms and wards in hospitals; bedrooms
A Areas for domestic and residential activities
in hotels and hostels kitchens and toilets.
B Office areas
C1: Areas with tables, etc. e.g. areas in schools, cafés, restaurants, dining halls, reading
rooms, and receptions.

C2: Areas with fixed seats, e.g. areas in churches, theatres or cinemas, conference rooms,
lecture halls, assembly halls, waiting rooms, and railway waiting rooms.

Areas where people may congregate (with the C3: Areas without obstacles for moving people, e g. areas in museums, exhibition rooms,
C exception of areas defined under categories A, B, etc. and access areas in public and administration buildings, hotels, hospitals, and
and D. railway station forecourts.

C4: Areas with possible physical activities, e.g. dance malls, gymnastic rooms, and
stages.

C5: Areas susceptible to large crowds, e.g. in buildings for public events like concert
halls, sports halls including stands, terraces and access areas and railway platforms.
D1: Areas in general retail shops
D Shopping areas
D2: Areas in department stores
E1: Areas susceptible to accumulation of goods, including access areas
E Storage areas
E2: Industrial areas
Table 1: Different categories of building areas (Source: EN 1991-1-1:2002)

Live Load Values for Different Categories of Buildings

The values of live loads for category A buildings (areas for domestic and residential activities) are provided in Table 2.

Sub-
Example qk (kN/m2) Qk (kN)
category

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All usages within self-contained dwelling units (a unit occupied by a single family or a modular
student accommodation unit with a secure door and comprising not more than six single
A1 1.5 2.0
bedrooms and an internal corridor) Communal areas (including kitchens) in blocks of flats with
limited use (see Note 1). For communal areas in other blocks of flats, see A5, A6 and C3
Bedrooms and dormitories except those in self-contained single-family dwelling units and in
A2 1.5 2.0
hotels and motels
A3 Bedrooms in hotels and motels; hospital wards; toilet areas 2.0 2.0
A4 Billiard/snooker rooms 2.0 2.7
Balconies in single-family dwelling units and communal areas in blocks of flats with limited use
A5 2.5 2.0
(see Note 1)
Same as the rooms to
Balconies in hostels, guest houses, residential clubs and communal areas in blocks of flats except which they give access 2.0 (concentrated
A6
those covered by Note 1 but with a minimum of at the outer edge)
3.0
Same as the rooms to
which they give access 2.0 (concentrated
A7 Balconies in hotels and motels
but with a minimum of at the outer edge)
4.0
Table 2: Live load values for domestic and residential buildings (Source: EN 1991-1-1:2002)

Typical single-family dwelling

The values of live loads for category B buildings (office areas) are provided in Table 3;

Sub-category Example qk (kN/m2) Qk (kN)

B1 General use other than in B2 2.5 2.7
B2 At or below ground floor level 3.0 2.7
Table 3: Live load values for office buildings (Source: EN 1991-1-1:2002)

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Typical office room

The values of live loads for category C buildings (areas where people may congregate) are provided in Table 4;

Sub- qk Qk
Example
category (kN/m2) (kN)
3.0 –
C1 Areas with tables 2.0 – 3.0
4.0
C11 Public, institutional and communal dining rooms and lounges, cafes and restaurants (see Note 2) 2.0 3.0
C12 Reading rooms with no book storage 2.5 4.0
C13 Classrooms 3.0 3.6
2.5 –
C2 Areas with fixed seats 3.0 – 4.0
7.0
C21 Assembly areas with fixed seating (see Note 3) 4.0 3.6
C22 Places of worship 3.0 2.7
4.0 –
C3 Areas without obstacles for moving people 3.0 – 5.0
7.0
Corridors, hallways, aisles in institutional-type buildings not subjected to crowds or wheeled vehicles, hostels, guest
C31 3.0 4.5
houses, residential clubs, and communal areas in blocks of flats not covered by Note 1
Stairs, landings in institutional-type buildings not subjected to crowds or wheeled vehicles, hostels, guest houses,
C32 3.0 4.0
residential clubs, and communal areas in blocks of flats not covered by Note 1
Corridors, hallways, aisles in all buildings not covered by C31 and C32, including hotels and motels and institutional
C33 4.0 4.5
buildings subjected to crowds
Corridors, hallways, aisles in all buildings not covered by C31 and C32, including hotels and motels and institutional
C34 5.0 4.5
buildings subjected to wheeled vehicles, including trolleys
Stairs, landings in all buildings not covered by C31 and C32, including hotels and motels and institutional buildings
C35 4.0 4.0
subjected to crowds
C36 Walkways – Light duty (access suitable for one person, walkway width approx 600 mm) 3.0 4.5
C37 Walkways – General duty (regular two-way pedestrian traffic) 5.0 3.6
C38 Walkways – Heavy duty (high-density pedestrian traffic including escape routes) 7.5 4.5
C39 Museum floors and art galleries for exhibition purposes 4.0 4.5
3.5 –
C4 Areas with possible physical activities 4.5 – 5.0
7.0
C41 Dance halls and studios, gymnasia, stages (see Note 5) 5.0 3.6
C42 Drill halls and drill rooms (see Note 5) 5.0 7.0
3.5 –
C5 Areas susceptible to large crowds 5.0 – 7.5
4.5
C51 Assembly areas without fixed seating, concert halls, bars and places of worship (see Note 4 and Note 5) 5.0 3.6
C52 Stages in public assembly areas (see Note 5) 7.5 4.5
Table 4: Live load values for areas susceptible to human gathering and crowd (Source: EN 1991-1-1:2002)

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Typical assembly room with fixed seat

The values of live loads for category D buildings (shopping areas) are provided in Table 5;

Sub-category Example qk (kN/m2) Qk (kN)

D1 Areas in general retail shops 4.0 3.6
D2 Areas in department stores 4.0 3.6
Table 5: Live load values for shopping areas (Source: EN 1991-1-1:2002)

NOTE 1: Communal areas in blocks of flats with limited use are blocks of flats not more than three storeys in height and with not more than four self-contained
dwelling units per floor accessible from one staircase.

NOTE 2: Where the areas described by C11 might be subjected to loads due to physical activities or overcrowding, e.g. a hotel dining room used as a dance floor,
imposed loads should be based on C4 or C5 as appropriate. Reference should also be made to Note 5.

NOTE 3: Fixed seating is seating where its removal and the use of the space for other purposes is improbable.

NOTE 4: For grandstands and stadia, reference should be made to the requirements of the appropriate certifying authority.

NOTE 5: For structures that might be susceptible to resonance effects, reference should be made to NA.2.1. of NA to BS EN 1991-1-1:2002.

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Stadiums require dynamic analysis

The values of live loads for category E buildings (storage and industrial buildings) are provided in Table 6;

Sub- Qk
Examples qk (kN/m2)
category (kN)
General areas for static equipment not specified elsewhere (institutional and
E11 2.0 1.8
public buildings)
E12 Reading rooms with book storage, e.g. libraries 4.0 4.5
E13 General storage other than those specified (see Note) 2.4 per metre of the storage height 7.0
E14 File rooms, filing and storage space (offices) 5.0 4.5
2.4 per metre of storage height but with a
E15 Stack rooms (books) 7.0
minimum of 6.5
E16 Paper storage for printing plants and stationery stores 4.0 per metre of the storage height 9.0
Dense mobile stacking (books) on mobile trolleys, in public and institutional 4.8 per metre of storage height but with a
E17 7.0
buildings minimum of 9.6
4.8 per metre of storage height but with a
E18 Dense mobile stacking (books) on mobile trucks, in warehouses 7.0
minimum of 15.0
5.0 per metre of storage height but with a
E19 Cold storage 9.0
minimum of 15.0
E2 See PD 6688 for imposed loads on floors for areas of industrial use
Table 6: Live load values for storage areas (Source: EN 1991-1-1:2002)

However, the recommended value for imposed load due to storage is specified as 7.5 kN/m2 in clause 6.3.2 of EN 1991-1-1:2002. The equivalent concentrated load
is 7.0 kN.

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Typical storage building

For garages and vehicle traffic areas, the imposed load for vehicles weighing less than 30 kN (about 3000 kg), qk = 2.5 kN/m2, and Qk = 7.0 kN. For vehicles
weighing more than 30 kN but less than 160 kN, qk = 5 kN/m2 while the concentrated load should be specially determined. The uniformly distributed load and the
concentrated load should not be applied simultaneously.

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