Dead Load
The permanent, static weight of a building's structural and finish materials — framing, sheathing, roofing, drywall, flooring, and fixed equipment.
In Detail
Dead load is typically 10–15 psf for floors, 10–20 psf for roofs, and 8–12 psf for walls (depending on cladding). Unlike live loads, dead loads are constant and predictable. Span tables use assumed dead loads — exceeding these assumptions (heavy tile, thick concrete) requires engineering.