I- beam for table legs?

[Vinko]

I'm thinking about making a dining room table out of I-Beams and 7/8's thick hot-rolled steel plate on top. I bet the plate would be obscenely expensive unless I could find it at a scrap yard. I've got the I-beams.

Maybe 4 inch square tubing as a minimal frame.

Maybe the floor would give out

 

[nissan_crawler]

That would probably go through the floor.

On another note, I just picked up a 24"x30"x1" plate off craigslist for $20.

 

[PAToyota]

Definitely a hefty table! You can get aluminum in similar shapes that would reduce weight quite a bit - but would also up the costs accordingly.

 

[toadjammer]

Maybe look at 1/4" plate and add a 1" strip around it to give it the depth and if you where relly looking for the mass get some 4" square tube with 1/16" wall.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Just don't walk around the house at night with the lights off..you don't want to stub your toe on that thing.

 

[mmg440]

Don't forget the extra I beam you may need to purchase to brace up your floor joists. Hope you never have to move the thing. It would be heaver then a piano. I like toadjammer idea to build it with the look of extreme but a bit lighter. Still would be heavy and wouldn't go anywhere but would be somewhat movable if the event ever did happen and you floor might hold it up.

 

[jdcompman]

That would probably go through the floor.

On another note, I just picked up a 24"x30"x1" plate off craigslist for $20.

That is a KILLER deal!! YOU ****!!

 

[Brad54]

I bought a piece of 3x5x1/2-inch plate from the scrap yard for scrap price... It weighs about 305lbs. (I about $47 for it)

The same piece in 7/8-inch plate comes to 459 pounds.

Now I'm no building contractor, nor do I play one on TV, but I'll still go out on a limb here and say that you're floor isn't set up to hold that kind of weight. Since a dining room table is usually bigger than 3x5, you'll be looking at nearly 1,000lbs with the 4x4 "minimal" frame, the I-beam and the top. Throw another 1,000 pouuds for dinner guests (I go 220 myself, my 13 year old is about 110, wife is 135, so that's that's nearly 1/4 ton for a family of three), and you'll be sitting in the basement before the main course is served.

Do a google search for Steel Weight Calculator, and you'll find all sorts of sites that will give you the weights of plate, I-beam, tubing, etc.

I think your big, burly dining room table would do better as a welding/fab table, so you can whip up something lighter for the house.

-Brad

 

[Lou's Garage]

Even if the floor held up I doubt the floor covering would.

Lou

 

[Vinko]

You guys are no fun. But you might realistic No basement though.

 

[PurdueSD]

why would you want to?

 

[Vinko]

why would you want to?

Because it looks good.

 

[A_Pmech]

A standard residential floor has an acceptable live-load rating of between 40 and 60 pounds per square foot.

The table legs alone exceed that!

 

[Vinko]

^^^^ Given America's expanding waistlines, wouldn't ever occupied chair around a table also violate the load rating by four or five times?

 

[A_Pmech]

^^^^ Given America's expanding waistlines, wouldn't ever occupied chair around a table also violate the load rating by four or five times?

The floor will support a much higher live point loading, such as a 400lb person walking on two feet. However, high static point loadings will cause the floor joists and deck to take a set. I don't recall what the factor of safety is between rated load and ultimate load for a standard 3/4 floor deck.

Having said that, I did load several thousand pounds of woodworking machinery and related equipment into a 9,000SF 1895 mansion a few years ago. I was hired to completely rebuild the interior from scratch, including the stairways and about 6 miles of custom on-site moulding. We brought a 28' truck full of tools with us, including about a dozen floor jacks.

After setting up the floor jacks and covering the floors with plywood, we used a forklift to get the machines off the truck and rolled 'em right into the living room with a pallet jack.

So, by that logic, keep it under half a ton.

 

[rickairmedic]

Ok this looks good and wont go through the floor before you sit down.

Rick

 

[Vinko]

Now you guys are getting into the spirit

 

[CraigFL]

I think you just need to cut holes in the web and flanges to lighten it...

 

[heavychevy454ss]

Should work great on assuming you have a slab foundation.

You've given me a great idea. I have some aluminum T that I've never found a use for,






until now.

 

[buening]

They roll I-beams (called W sections) in as small as W4x13. That is 13lb/ft and a 4" tall beam. With four legs of roughly 3' each, you'd be at 156lb without the top.

You can also get W12x14 sections (14lb/ft and 12" tall section). They are pretty thin sections, at 3/16" web and a little less than 1/4" flanges.

You can build it with the lightest sections possible and be reasonable on the top thickness, but that doesn't help you much (with cost) since you already have the I-beams. I'd weld plates on the bottom of each leg to distribute the load.....similar to a column and baseplate used in buildings.

 

[Vinko]

sofa end table.

That 4 x 8 sheet below, may be for the dining table.

The I-Beam Dining Table is coming. (And maybe going through the dining room floor!).

 

[rsanter]

get some aluminum I beam

bob

 

[88thunder]

Use the rusty i-beam for the legs and find an old slab of rough wood for the top, imo.

 

[69supercj]

Different, for sure. Practicle nope.

 

[Vinko]

Use the rusty i-beam for the legs and find an old slab of rough wood for the top, imo.

That sounds kind of like an intersting look. Maybe a nice old hickory top.