The house weights listed below are the result of many weeks of hard work done by engineer Jim Russell free of charge for the benefit of the public. His conclusions became the engineering basis of Standard Plan A.
He looked at the most common combinations of variables found in ordinary houses and determined how much these houses weighed so engineers in the future would not need to do separate calculations every time they designed a retrofit. In practical terms, this means the engineering has already been done for your house. His calculations are the most exhaustive and reliable calculations currently available to the public.
Shingle roof, wood siding, and sheet rock inside.
One Story
34# per square foot
Two Story
29.5# square foot
Shingle roofing, wood siding, and plaster inside.
One Story
45# per square foot
Two Story
41# per square foot
Shingle roofing, stucco exterior, and sheet rock inside.
One Story
41# per square foot
Two Story
36.5# per square foot
Shingle roofing, stucco exterior, and plaster inside.
One Story
50# per square foot
Two Story
45# per square foot
* Assumption is that a two-story house has equal square footage on first and second floors.
If you want to figure out the weight of your house on your own, this will help.
This is from the 1946 Steel Construction Manual
