Innisfree Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Does anyone else ever worry that the collective weight of their home library might actually endanger the structural stability of their house? Laughing here, as I try to sort and organize at the end of the school year, but also wishing I could add on a purpose-built library. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 I do worry about some of our furniture "smiling" from all the books. Most of ours are still in the basement at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 I never thought of that. *adds 'books destroy house' to sleepless night list* ;) 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Dh, a civil engineer, has commented on that several times ... not so tongue in cheek. When we looked at houses, that is something he kept in mind, knowing how many books we had (with only a toddler and a first grader.) He did rule out a couple of houses based upon shoddy construction. When I did my last curriculum cull, we joked that the house breathed a sigh of relief. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 I have worried about putting my piano in odd places, and also certain exercise equipment. So it is a valid concern IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 For those concerned, what kind of foundation do your homes have and are we talking downstairs or upstairs? We have a new home and honestly I have never thought twice about our library's weight or our piano! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 I'm not sure about the structural integrity of the house, but I am worried about my own structural integrity, as we move the books (repeatedly) from room to room to remove and replace the flooring. Inspired by lower back pain, I actually find myself in the proper headspace to do a massive cull of my bookshelves once the floors are done and we put everything back in space. Of course, I just ordered three new books this morning . . . ;) :D 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbeanmama Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Yes, we do worry about the structural integrity of the house with so many books. Actually, we kind of worry about the structural integrity of the house in general - it's 106 years old. When my kiddos play HotWheels in the living room, they can sit in the center of the room and push cars in any direction, and the cars roll back down to them. We don't store books in the living room. And we are careful about a certain section of hallway upstairs. Most books are stored in what used to be the formal dining room (now play room/homeschool room). We built floor-to-ceiling book shelves against one (load bearing) wall. Around the corner we have a deep pantry, and I also worry a bit about how much the floor there can hold. So far, none of my flour or sugar buckets have fallen through! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 (edited) I sorta did that. I stashed tons of schoolbooks in the attic, never considering structural integrity. One day, my dh noticed the bathroom door sticking. He went into the attic to see what was up. I'll never forget him thundering down the stairs hollering "Are you TRYING to make our ceiling cave in?" ETA: Yeah, Ethel, my dh is a civil engineer too. He was not amused. Edited June 10, 2016 by fairfarmhand 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 It's not so much the hous falling down, but whether or not the support beams will sag under the weight. He forbade me from making a room divider out of bookshelves due to weight concerns. Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 I remember learning in a structural engineering class that university libraries need extra support. Our bookshelves are in the basement. I have never worried about the piano. I do remember that during the waterbed craze, they weren't allowed in some second floor apartments. But that might have been due to leaks and not so much due to the structural integrity of the apartment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Yes, we've given thought to the placement of bookcases in homes based on where the underlying supports were. In our last move, we had about 8,000 lbs. in books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theelfqueen Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 We went to an old Mansion in Victoria where they had at one time housed a library-- we weren't allowed to walk in some of the upstairs rooms because of the structural damage caused by the weight of books. I had a home waterbirth with my youngest and we had to find the right spot for the pool ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted June 10, 2016 Author Share Posted June 10, 2016 (edited) For those concerned, what kind of foundation do your homes have and are we talking downstairs or upstairs? We have a new home and honestly I have never thought twice about our library's weight or our piano! Well, for us, we've got a standard ranch house on a crawl space, roughly fifty years old, probably average construction quality. I have no real reason to think there's a problem, but we do have a *lot* of books. The worry just lurks in the back of my mind a bit. Eta: 1st floor here, concentrated around the outside of a few rooms. Edited June 10, 2016 by Innisfree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted June 10, 2016 Author Share Posted June 10, 2016 I'm not sure about the structural integrity of the house, but I am worried about my own structural integrity, as we move the books (repeatedly) from room to room to remove and replace the flooring. Inspired by lower back pain, I actually find myself in the proper headspace to do a massive cull of my bookshelves once the floors are done and we put everything back in space. Of course, I just ordered three new books this morning . . . ;) :D Ouch. Back pain is a compelling argument for culling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted June 10, 2016 Author Share Posted June 10, 2016 I sorta did that. I stashed tons of schoolbooks in the attic, never considering structural integrity. One day, my dh noticed the bathroom door sticking. He went into the attic to see what was up. I'll never forget him thundering down the stairs hollering "Are you TRYING to make our ceiling cave in?" ETA: Yeah, Ethel, my dh is a civil engineer too. He was not amused. Ummm. Time to go see if any boxes of books are in the attic. I'm seriously going to have to get rid of some things over the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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