Floor Live Load Lookup
Pick an occupancy and read the characteristic live load in kN/m².
Quick answer
With the default inputs: Occupancy Residential, dormitory, hotel, office, ward, nursery · Tributary area 30 m²Characteristic live load 2.0 kN/m²
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Result
Characteristic live load
2.0kN/m²
| Characteristic live load qk | 2.0kN/m² |
| Tributary area | 30m² |
| Reduction for beams | Area >25 m², ×0.9 |
| Beam design value | 1.80kN/m² |
| Reduction for columns and foundations | Area 25-50 m², ×0.9 |
| Column and foundation value | 1.80kN/m² |
Based on GB 50009-2012 Tables 5.1.1 and 5.1.2. Reductions apply only to beams, walls, columns and foundations, never to the slab itself. Item 1 (residential) and items 2 and up use different area thresholds, handled automatically here. Industrial buildings, process loads and equipment loads must be assessed separately.
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Formula
| Characteristic value | Table 5.1.1 by occupancy |
| Beam reduction | item 1 above 25 m² ×0.9; others above 50 m² ×0.9 |
| Column/foundation | item 1: 25 m² ×0.9, 50 m² ×0.85; others: 50 m² ×0.9, 100 m² ×0.85 |
| No reduction | never when designing the slab itself |
| Separate items | partition weight, equipment, fire engines |
Office floor, 30 m² tributary area: characteristic load 2.0 kN/m²; beams may use ×0.9 = 1.80 kN/m², columns and foundations also 1.80 kN/m² at this area. The slab itself stays at 2.0 kN/m².
How to work it out
- Identify the occupancy, which sets the characteristic live load. Dwellings, dormitories, hotels, offices, wards and nurseries are all 2.0 kN/m²; classrooms, laboratories, reading rooms, meeting rooms and outpatient areas also 2.0; retail without fixed storage 3.5; libraries, archives and stores 5.0; compact shelving archives 12.0; lift motor rooms 7.0; non-accessible roofs 0.5; accessible roofs 2.0; roof gardens 3.0.
- Distinguish floors from corridors, stairs and balconies. In the same building corridors and stairs often carry more than the rooms: 2.0 for residential corridors, 2.5 for school and office corridors, 3.5 for fire escape corridors.
- Decide whether reduction is permitted by element type. For floor beams, category 1 areas over 25 m² may be multiplied by 0.9, and other categories over 50 m² by 0.9.
- For walls, columns and foundations the reduction is greater: category 1 over 25 m² by 0.9 and over 50 m² by 0.85; other categories over 50 m² by 0.9 and over 100 m² by 0.85.
- Do not reduce when designing the slab itself. Reduction applies to beams, walls, columns and foundations, because a slab carries its load directly and gains nothing from the statistical argument that large areas are rarely fully loaded.
- Remember the separately applied loads: partition self-weight as a linear load, equipment loads from manufacturer data, and fire-engine loading as an equivalent uniformly distributed load.
Where it goes wrong
- Using the same value for corridors as for rooms. Residential corridors match rooms at 2.0, but school corridors are 2.5 and fire escape corridors 3.5 — using the room value under-designs beams and slabs.
- Reducing the load when designing the slab. The reduction rules expressly exclude the slab itself, because slab loading is local and the large-area statistical argument does not apply.
- Stacking reduction factors. For a category 1 area of 60 m², a beam takes 0.9 — not 0.9 then 0.85 for exceeding 50 m². Only walls, columns and foundations go to 0.85.
- Forgetting the 12.0 for compact shelving. Ordinary stacks are 5.0, but compact shelving concentrates load on rails and is given its own 12.0. This is the most commonly underestimated value, and missing it cracks slabs in service.
Material and cost
Live load directly drives beam, slab and column sections and reinforcement. Going from 2.0 to 3.5 (retail) adds 30-50% to slab thickness and steel. Over-specifying wastes money; under-specifying forces strengthening at two to three times new-build cost, with disruption to occupants.
On site
- Keep dead and live load separate and apply partial factors in combination — typically 1.5 on live and 1.3 on dead where unfavourable. Do not simply add characteristic values.
- Archive and storage occupancies change in practice. Design for the worst credible use, or state the limitation explicitly on the drawings.
- Accessible roofs and roof gardens differ substantially (2.0 versus 3.0), and roof gardens also carry planting and drainage dead load.
- Fire-engine loading applies only to slabs under a fire access route, as an equivalent uniformly distributed load of roughly 20 kN/m² depending heavily on cover depth — not to the whole building.
Basis
- GB 50009-2012 Load code for the design of building structures, uniformly distributed live loads on floors
- GB 50009-2012 Load code for the design of building structures, reduction of live loads
- GB 50010-2010 (2015 edition) Code for design of concrete structures, ultimate limit state
FAQ
Is 2.0 kN/m² enough for a home - what about furniture or an aquarium?
2.0 kN/m² is about two adults per square metre: a statistical service load, not a capacity limit. The slab also carries dead load and uses load factors, so real reserve is much higher. But concentrated items need checking: a 1.5 m aquarium holds close to a tonne, roughly 7 kN/m² over 1.5 m², so keep it near a beam or wall and watch the span.
Why no reduction for slabs but reduction for beams and columns?
It is probability. A slab is unlikely to be fully loaded over its small area, so its full intensity is assumed; a beam or column spans several rooms, and the chance of all being packed at once falls as the area grows, which is why the reduction increases with area.
Do partition walls count as live load?
No - partition weight is dead load. Light partitions may be smeared as an equivalent uniform dead load (around 1.0 kN/m² depending on height and spacing), but masonry partitions must be entered as line loads in the analysis.
Cite this page
Use this format in reports, method statements or coursework. The link is permanent.
Building Calculator. Floor Live Load Lookup. 2026-10-25. https://jianzhujisuan.com/en/live-load
Results are estimating aids only and are not a design basis. Construction and final accounts must follow the drawings, the applicable standards and an approved method statement. Anything affecting structural safety, shoring or falsework must be checked by a suitably qualified engineer.