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any concern that the birthing tub would be too heavy for a floor?  

post #1 of 20
2/15/05 at 8:00pm
Thread Starter 
i am planning an unassisted homebirth and one of the things on my list is a birthing tub. i have one picked out and according to how many gallons it holds, i can estimate that it will weigh about 875 pounds when filled.

my husband is concerned that the floor will not hold the weight of the tub.

i think he is silly- our home was built in 2004, to better-than-required standards and i doubt that a birth tub will crash through the floor!

has anyone else had the same concern? or... can anyone offer any other information? i really want to use a pool, since the more i "practice" in my tub, the more uncomfortable i find it.
post #2 of 20
2/15/05 at 8:27pm
Just an idea - you could call a waterbed dealer and ask them some questions about weight and the floor, since it is in some ways similar. I found this on one website:

Quote:
from http://www.my-waterbed-shop.com/pillow.html#8
How much does a waterbed weigh?

A waterbed can weigh up to 1500lbs, but because the weight is distributed over a large area, weight is not a concern. A waterbed weighs less per square foot than a refrigerator. Any house built to modern building codes can handle the weight of a waterbed without a problem.
post #3 of 20
2/15/05 at 9:39pm
875 is like 5-7 people so if you think you could get 7 people to lay on the floor and not have it crash through most likely the tub won't either. I had a pool in my nursery for my hb last year not a problem. My home was built in 2003. Now when I had a water birth in a house that was build 30 years ago we took precautions to put the pool over the wall underneath for extra support and that was fine too.

Michelle
post #4 of 20
2/16/05 at 12:10am
I heard somewhere that it isn't a problem because the weight is only temporary and won't be staying there besides that...as was mentioned above, it is like so many people standing in one place and it is over a large area.

I hope it is all cool because we are using a tub on a second story apartment floor!
post #5 of 20
2/25/05 at 10:03am
Just bumping for another mama who was concerned about the weight of the tub.
post #6 of 20
2/25/05 at 10:06am
I always recommend to my clients to put it near a load-bearing wall, or in the corner of a room that is on the outside perimeter of the house.

Carolynn
post #7 of 20
2/25/05 at 3:07pm
We were thinking of putting the pool above the central support beam on the first floor. My heart was set on having the pool on the second floor, in our bedroom, though. Who wants to go upstairs to give birth? (I'm still not sure I want to give birth in the water. I want it for labor relaxation.)
post #8 of 20
2/25/05 at 7:30pm
do you have a futon or something you could set up downstairs where the pool is?

Funny how the more space you have, the harder it is to feel totally set up for whatever happens!
post #9 of 20
2/25/05 at 10:28pm
We could set up a bed or something downstairs, but I'm not sure where we'd put the in-laws! (They're going to be watching our toddler.) Our first floor is entirely open, and I know both they and I wouldn't feel comfortable with them being present during my labor and birth. This would effectively banish them to a bedroom on the second floor.

I'm still doing calculations and research. I've found a lot of stats on how much the pools weigh when filled, and it's crazy that more houses haven't caved in.
post #10 of 20
2/27/05 at 8:17pm
The tub is *not* going to crash through the floor. The tub I rent out to people weighs 1480 lbs when full but the weight load of it is only 80 lbs. per square foot. I'm sure your floor can handle that (and less since your tub isn't nearly as large). The only precaution I'd suggest is having a tarp under it to protect your floor from spills as you get in & out of the tub.
post #11 of 20
2/27/05 at 9:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by somewhere to grow
We were thinking of putting the pool above the central support beam on the first floor. My heart was set on having the pool on the second floor, in our bedroom, though. Who wants to go upstairs to give birth? (I'm still not sure I want to give birth in the water. I want it for labor relaxation.)

I had my birth on the second floor. I don't have a full bath down stairs so I would have had to go up stairs to shower. So that settled it for me.


michelle
post #12 of 20
2/27/05 at 10:58pm
near a load bearing wall if you are worried- more than 20 years ago we had a water bed go through a floor- but his was in an old house with-out a foundation and I think that the floor boards had rotted.

we have had tubs in trailers and no problems......
post #13 of 20
2/28/05 at 6:54pm
Had this same scary question...and our house is old and the tub IS sinking because of rotten floor boards and a crappily dug up basement. Yikes! Needless to say we are getting the smallest pool possible.

I wouldn't worry about that new of a house, though, the boards should be very strong. 875 pounds isn't really that much; I like the refrigerator comparison.
post #14 of 20
3/3/05 at 2:49pm
I wasn't worried about it till you mentioned it :-). It sounds like it's not that big a deal - nice to hear the words of wisdom!
post #15 of 20
9/1/06 at 3:53pm
bumping this old old thread because I am totally hung up with fret about this. We are using an aquadoula which is about 1400 lbs with just the water and tub. Add me and maybe dh and the midwife hovering at edge and we are looking at about 2000 lbs. Makes me nervous. This will be on the second floor near (but not totally up against) the outside wall of the house. The second floor was an addon in the 1980's I think (the house itself (the main floor and foundation etc. are from 1930).

Should I be worried?
post #16 of 20
9/1/06 at 4:07pm
I've got an aquadoula and it will be on the second story of our house built in 1980, too. I'm a bit nervous, but I think everything will be OK. :
post #17 of 20
9/1/06 at 5:54pm
Dh and I put a brace under the floor that had the pool. However, our house is very new and built very sturdy, so it probably wasn't needed, but dh thought best safe than sorry.
post #18 of 20
9/1/06 at 7:17pm
I asked the acquadoula people this (2nd floor apt here as well), and their comment was that if my floor was that weak, the house should be condemned - any reasonably structurally sound house will be fine, particularly because the tub is only full for a short time.
post #19 of 20
9/1/06 at 7:21pm
Great thread. :
post #20 of 20
9/1/06 at 7:50pm
When I had my DS we lived in a trailer that was old and not in the best shape. We had a fairly big tub and it was fine.
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