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From: topher@cyb-eng.UUCP (Topher Eliot)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Pontification on waterbeds and lbs/sq in.
Message-ID: <410@cyb-eng.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 7-Jul-84 17:10:42 EDT
Article-I.D.: cyb-eng.410
Posted: Sat Jul  7 17:10:42 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 12-Jul-84 03:19:25 EDT
Organization: Cyb Systems, Austin, Texas
Lines: 17

I find the 'my refrigerator exerts more pounds per square inch than my
waterbed' argument unconvincing, so I can't blame landlords for finding it
so as well.  Floors rarely fail due to a moderate amount of force in a small
area (the exeception I've seen is an old claw-leg bathtub sinking through a
wooden floor at four rotten points).  If your floor were to fail because of
your waterbed, all (or several of) the joists under your bed would have to
crack.  So the measure that really matters is the amount of weight per floor
joist, with allowance for joist length.

But even given that, a dozen 150-lb people standing very still weigh as
much as one 1800-lb waterbed.  Get them all dancing, and the stresses go
way up.  Maybe landlords would find this argument more convincing.

Cheers,
Topher Eliot
Cyb Systems, Austin, TX
{seismo, allegra, ihnp4}!ut-sally!cyb-eng!topher