7R Glossary
Floor load-bearing capacity
What should you know?
This parameter is one of the absolutely fundamental technical criteria evaluated by tenants of warehouse and manufacturing facilities. Insufficient floor load-bearing capacity prevents the installation of high-density high-rack storage systems, the entry of heavy counterbalanced forklifts, and the installation of production lines or industrial machinery.
The strength of the floor depends on the thickness of the concrete slab, the type of reinforcement used (traditional steel mesh, reinforcement dispersed with steel or polymer fibers), and the bearing capacity and compaction of the subgrade. In addition to uniformly distributed load (UDL – Uniformly Distributed Load), the concentrated point load exerted by the feet of storage racks is of critical importance.
Floor Load-Bearing Capacity in Practice 7R
In 7R warehouse parks, the floor load-bearing capacity is designed as a standard to be at least 5 t/m2, and in many key facilities, it is increased to 7 t/m2 or higher. This allows our tenants to freely plan high-bay racking up to 12 meters in height and ensures trouble-free operation of VNA forklifts. In projects carried out under the Built-to-Suit (BTS) model ,Built-to-Suit (BTS) is a model for commercial real estate development—most often warehouse or industrial—designed and built from the ground up to meet the specific, individual requirements of a particular tenant. Unlike off-the-shelf speculative space, a BTS facility is built to order, taking into account unique technological processes, hall layouts, and the client’s technical specifications.Read the full definition → we prepare custom foundation slabs and floors with point load-bearing capacities tailored directly to specific production lines or multi-level mezzanines.
Floor load-bearing capacity and the tenant's business profile
| Criterion | Typical required floor load-bearing capacity | Key Design Challenges |
|---|---|---|
| Light Logistics and E-commerce | 5 metric tons per square meter | Heavy traffic of front-loading forklifts, order-picking zones |
| High-bay storage (racks >10 m) | 6–7 metric tons per square meter or more | Very high point load under the feet of the rack columns |
| Industrial and Automotive Manufacturing | From 7 t/m² to 10+ t/m² | Dynamic loads from machines, overhead cranes, and presses |
| Warehouses with mezzanines | Customized point reinforcements | The need to anchor mezzanine columns to the slab |
Frequently Asked Questions
The industry standard for modern Class A warehouses is a load-bearing capacity of 5 to 7 t/m2 with a point load typically ranging from 60 to 80 kN per foot of racking. These values are more than sufficient to support most standard logistics and distribution processes.
Uniform load (expressed in t/m2) refers to a mass distributed uniformly across the entire floor area. In contrast, a point load (concentrated, expressed in kN) is the force with which a single rack leg or machine support presses down on a small section of the floor. When designing high-bay warehouses, it is precisely this point load that is the critical parameter.