One of the most common questions that I often here especially if someone is thinking about putting a treadmill upstairs is, can a treadmill fall through the floor? In this article I’d like to answer that question and some tips to help you of you are weary of your treadmill falling though the floor of your house.
Treadmills generally weigh somewhere between 250 to 350 lbs. any building that has enough capacity and is well built can easily withhold the capacity of a treadmill.
These days’ houses, rental apartments, and even cheap accommodations have enough capacity to hold a treadmill with or without the person on it.
There is no fear at all if you are looking forward to taking your treadmill to the 2nd floor or higher.
This does not mean that you are safe. There are certain precautions you should generally take if planning to fit a treadmill in your house.
Below you will find a checklist of sorts, do help you determine if your floor will be safe to support your treadmill.
Contents
The floor is to be examined
Before moving to a new rental or house makes sure that the floor you are occupying can withstand the weight of a treadmill. If the house you are occupying has been built following all the standard measures than it would be able to easily hold approximately about 50 lbs per square foot. Now simply add up the whole area and check if it can hold your treadmill or not. If you sum up it will show that the room can easily hold the treadmill weighing somewhere around 550 lbs to 650 lbs.
Buy less weighty treadmill
Now if you are a kind of a person who is on the go all times and keeps changing rooms than buying a treadmill that weighs less is one of the options. Having a treadmill that weights lesser than normal will keep you rest assured that there is no harm to the floor or fear of the treadmill falling through the floor. Owing to a treadmill those weights less also signifies that they are portable and can be managed easily.
Treadmill Mat
A treadmill mat is very essential if you are having wooden flooring. This will keep the wooden floors safe from any damages and at the same time help the treadmill to stay stiff to one place without many vibrations. Spreading a mat below the treadmill helps to spread the overall weigh not putting it totally on the wooden floors. Treadmill mats are easily available in all leading stores and e-commerce websites. Make sure to get a treadmill mat while purchasing a treadmill.
Use carpets to lower the noise
Heavy treadmills vibrate a lot which can sometimes be worrisome for your neighbors. The motors vibrating can irritate people staying lower to you. Continuous vibrating sounds would finally result in complaints from your neighbors. To avoid such issues you can use a carpet. Carpet help mute the vibration to a much lower level keeping your neighbors and lower residents unnoticed of the treadmill when in action. The carpet also protects the floors from getting rugged or damaged which is rewarding.
Place treadmills away from walls
If you are staying on the 2nd floor or above make sure to keep the treadmill away from the walls. This will keep the treadmill safe and also fewer vibrations will be felt. Try to place the treadmills in a position where the vibrations can be least felt allowing you to exercise to your potential without any worries. Treadmills are very delicate appliances and could cause huge damage if removed from one place to another. Try to choose a spot from where you no longer need to keep changing.
Why a treadmill will not fall through the floor?
Treadmills have very fewer chances of falling through the floors. Generally, all buildings have been built keeping in mind the minimum standards and can withstand the weight of treadmills.
Can a treadmill fall through the floor is one question which has been troubling many treadmill owners is solved. By referring to the above-mentioned points we come to know that treadmills have very fewer or no chances at all of falling through the floor.
Though the chances are fewer, precautions should be taken at all times as treadmills are humongous machines occupying a large amount of space. Some of the common steps and precautions can save you from mishaps that have a very high possibility of happening like rugged floors and excess vibrations.
Using treadmill mats and carpets can restrain the vibrating noise be felt downstairs. There is nothing to fear as such from placing your treadmill on the 2nd floor or higher as there are no chances of it falling through the floor.
