Can a Mobile Home Floor Support a Piano?
A mobile home has a strong floor made of about four layers. There is a steel frame that is an extension of the chassis, floor joists and insulation, and wood or wood composite material. Can such a floor support the weight of a piano?
Can a Mobile Home Floor Support a Piano?
Yes. A mobile home floor can support a piano, including the largest full-size grand piano. Unless the floor is old and damaged, it should be able to handle such weight with ease.
A midsize piano, which most people will have in their homes, weighs between 350 and 500 pounds. If you go for a grand piano, it will be between 500 and 1000 pounds. The largest piano will weigh almost as much as six adult men of average weight.
Most modern mobile home floors will comfortably hold that. Read on to learn more about mobile home floors and pianos.
How Much Weight Can a Mobile Home Floor Hold?
A mobile home can hold between 40 and 200 pounds per square foot. There is no standard foundation for these homes, so the strength of the floor varies from one manufacturer to another. However, as long as you do not place all the heavy items on the same square footage, the home will withstand weight just fine.
The average home is about 1,184 square feet, which means that the home can withstand a total weight of about 47,360 pounds on the minimum. Some stronger modern mobile homes with high-strength steel bases can hold even more weight.
Some parts of the floor can hold more weight than others. For instance, the parts with the joists have support beneath them and are, therefore, able to handle more weight. Parts with no support beneath them are weaker.
Mobile homes that rest on a slab foundation are stronger and able to handle more weight compared to homes resting on cinder blocks.
However, the home is able to handle heavy furniture with great ease, large shelves, gym equipment, and heavy-duty recliner seats. You need to ensure that these items are spread well across the room.
You may need to calculate the exact weight of items in your home and the exact square footage they will occupy. Consider the weight of the additional weight that the items will carry. For instance, weigh an empty recliner and then consider its weight when there is a person or people sitting on it.
Will My Floor Support a Piano?
Your floor will support a piano. The heaviest piano is about 1,000 pounds while the floor of your mobile home can hold up to 200 pounds per square foot.
However, there are many factors that determine how safe it is for the mobile home to carry heavy items. For starters, the condition of the ground on which the mobile home sits matters a lot.
Your home can be on a metal or concrete foundation, or it might not have any real foundation under it. If the home sits on a metal or concrete foundation, feel free to bring the largest piano and any other heavy items and place them on it.
The home can also sit on a runner/ribbon foundation, which is common in most parks. Although most municipalities are now against this type of floor, you may still be having such a foundation, and it is not safe at all to bring heavy items. If you want to bring other heavy items to your manufactured home, besides the piano, you should consider having a permanent foundation.
The condition of the mobile home chassis, floor joists, and outriggers also determine whether a floor is strong enough to handle the weight of a grand piano and other heavy items.
How Thick Is the Floor in a Mobile Home?
The subfloor of the mobile home is about 3/4 inches or 5/8 inches, depending on the thickness of the decking used. The decking is placed on 2×6 floor joists.
With the above kind of thickness, even homes made before the 1970s can still hold up to 40 pounds per square foot with up to 200 pounds of concentrated load on a 1-inc diameter disc.
The joists on your mobile home’s floor are able to hold a 500-pound piano comfortably.
Besides the joists and the decking, the chassis extends to the floor to add to its strength. The chassis consists of steel beams welded together to create the structure of the single wide or double wide manufactured home. This chassis curves slightly for even weight distribution on the floor space.
This chassis guarantees that your home can withstand shock and weight. You are also able to install a grand piano without worrying that you will make so much noise to other people.
The outriggers also determine whether a mobile home floor is safe to hold heavy items. These are the tapered edges on the ends of the beams. These outriggers need to be strong enough and extend all the way to the edge of the home for the floor to support heavy items.
Some cheap manufactured homes may have outriggers that do not extend all the way to the edges. These homes are prone to sagging after a while, and they may not be ideal for placing heavy items.
What Size Are Mobile Home Floor Joists?
The most common floor joist size for a mobile home is 2 x 6 inches. However, there are other sizes, such as 2 x 8 and 2 x 10 inches, depending on the size of the home and the strength needed for the home’s floor.
The single-wide and double-wide manufactured homes feature joists that run across the two closest walls. This means that instead of running along the length of the room, the joists run across the room. However, in some mobile homes built before 1980, the joists may run along the length of the home.
A double-wide mobile home is made by attaching two single-wide homes together side by side. In most cases, the floor joists are placed 16 inches apart, but you might find some homes where the joists are up to 24 inches apart. Whichever the case, the two setups allow for sufficient insulation of the floor.
In some rare cases, the floor joists may run in different directions. This occurs when the previous owner of the mobile home replaces the joists and alters their direction.
What Other Heavier Items Can the Floor of a Mobile Home Hold?
The floor of your mobile home is able to hold all household items, including the heaviest without breaking down. You can use it for an aquarium, to hold a gun safe, you can add tiles, for bookshelves, and for gym equipment among others.
For the older homes, you should be keen on adding any heavy items. This is especially important if your older home is sinking or if the floor is sagging. Such floors might be so weak that they are not able to handle the heavy items.
Inspect your old home before bringing any heavy items to ensure that the joists and the decking are in good condition.
Closing Thoughts
It is easy to install a piano in a manufactured home once you ensure that the floor is in good shape. You need to locate the joists so that the piano sits on the strongest part of the floor. The joists are the bones of the floor and they offer the support you need for your piano.
Place the piano as close to the wall as possible as this allows you to leverage the support of the walls. If you feel that your floor may not be strong enough (say in an older home with a sagging floor), you need to go for a lighter piano. You do not need the largest grand piano for home use – a smaller 350- to 500-pound piano will serve you just right.
