Second-story gamerooms....

[copious]

I'll give you a logical answer to this question.

A game weights about 300 lbs and it roughly 2'x3'=6 square foot of space \ 300lbs = 50lbs per sqare foot.

I on the other hand weigh 200lbs and when I stand feet together I exert 200lbs per square foot and I haven't fallen through the floor yet.

 

[pookdolie]

I've got three cabarets and one cocktail in my upstairs bedroom (very small bedroom). I might try to fit one more cabaret in there eventually.

I first got into collecting games when I still lived at home in my parent's log house. I had a Demolition Derby for starters, then a Williams cocktail machine, both in my bedroom. Eventually, both of those plus a dead Space Invaders and a Bomb Jack (former Scramble) cocktail all got put in the other bedroom upstairs, across the hallway.

The only "open" area of the house was the downstairs living room; kitchen and living room flowed into one another, no wall. No support under the bedroom where my games now were. In about a month, the ceiling was *very* slightly bending towards the floor in the living room. Oops.

We had a nice-looking wooden support put in. The games are gone, but it remains.

 

[Arcadenut]

I have 6 cabinets upstairs and figured weight is not an issue. I kinda figured it's like having 9 normal size adults standing in one area.


.

If by Normal, you mean all weighing 280+ LBS

 

[Black Matrix]

I thought I would chime in as I have studied this somewhat.
We were looking at adding an addition to the house. I wanted a home theater and arcade in the upstairs section where I would occupy primarily. In a 12 x 24 foot section, I figured I could fit about 20 machines with room to play. Assuming that at full occupancy, I would have 1 person playing every game, you could add another 200 lbs per title. I assumed each cab weighed 200 lbs. 400 times 20 titles would net 8000 lbs. Most of the contractors that I told what I wanted to do didn't know whether to shit or go blind....The resulting solution I figured out was to put a cross member supported by fixed steel post basement support poles under. But alas, most of the contractors wanted more for the add on than I could buy another house for. Currently, I have one upstairs room with 3 cabs in it. The floor rafters are huge so I really don't worry about the floor collapsing. However, one of the contractors told me a story about one of his jobs were a grand piano(or 2) were put in an upstairs room and the floor joices began to sag. So to answer your question, it depends on how many games you want up there and how cheaply built your house is.

 

[KingOfTron]

Thanks for all the responses everyone, it really helped out a lot.

 

[cdjump]

These are old pics, i've added 2 or 3 cabs since then and rearranged a bit.
Anyway, there are now 12 cabs (11 full size, and one Cherry master cabaret), a 9' 1" slate pool table, 25" tv, entertainment center, Megatouch 5, loveseat and stereo & speakers, and computer and lcd monitor in that 18x19' room. (plus, i use the area under the pool table for storage).
Here's the details for those of you who care- its the room over my garage.
The knee walls are 4' tall, and the roof is pitched at 12-12. Rafters are 2x8's, as are the floor joists on 16" centers. Right in the middle of the room, in the garage below is a 4"x24" beam that spans the whole 19' of length. On the back side, (side with the drivers) there's a supporting wall about 2' in from the knee wall. The other side the joist run from the 24" beam to the outside wall, which is the wall that the garage door is in. There is another 16' 4x18" beam on top of the garage door that carries the load on that side. This is typical construction for 2 story houses with a room over the garage.

Anyway, on to the pics - sorry they're so grainy.

 

[cdjump]

oh, and i forgot to add - a mini cube fridge, too. lol. And, i've had as many as 10 people in there before without any problems. I wouldn't worry too much about it, iirc, floors have to be figured at a 40 psf live load. An average cab takes up about 6' sq. ft, so thats a 240 lbs weight thats alloted to that area. If you figure a walkway in front of it of 2'x2', your upto 400 lbs of weight in that area, which unless you really put games tight, and cover the whole room, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

And, i've seen them stack 30-40 pcs of sheetrock at 80 lbs a piece in the floor on a second story routinely when they're rocking a house, right on top of one another, in the middle of the floor, with no ill effects, so i'd not be too concerned about your games. Keep them as close as possible to the supporting wall downstairs, and you'll for sure be ok.

 

[nesjess]

I have a 3-story townhome. No way I would ever attempt to bring any games up to the second level (kitchen/dining/living) or third level (bedrooms). I applaud you guys who take to the extreme and get it done.

My games are on the bottom floor living area that leads out to the garage. I have half that room and one side of the garage. I'm at 50% capacity right now. Room for maybe 4-5 more games. That's my limit until we buy a bigger place.

 

[bronson2112]

20' x 20' room above my garage has 9 vids, 1 pin, a coke machine, as well as home theater seating and all the equipment that goes along with it. I've had as many as 10 people in there at once - no issues (knock on wood). Next house - games will be on ground floor... it's a major PITA to move those suckers up the stairs.

 

[Black Matrix]

20' x 20' room above my garage has 9 vids, 1 pin, a coke machine,...

Really,... A coke machine. If its anything like the one I own, you win the award for crazy crackers on this forum. You sir are a braver man than I will ever be. Mine weighs about 400-500 pounds and would probably top out at 800-1000 full.

 

[bronson2112]

Really,... A coke machine. If its anything like the one I own, you win the award for crazy crackers on this forum. You sir are a braver man than I will ever be. Mine weighs about 400-500 pounds and would probably top out at 800-1000 full.

Not a full size one... that definitely would be crazy It's an antique - 1958 model. Probably about 300 lbs fully loaded.

 

[Hyde]

I have 2 games upstairs so far, and 2 downstairs waiting to be brought up once I am done fixing them up. But man, its a pain getting them up there.

 

[shardian]

I'm shocked that no one had anything to say about the picture of the tractor being used to add/remove games! Maybe that extreme method isn't as rare as I thought...

 

[Tupin]

Actually, I could only wonder why there's a door that just leads to a ten foot drop anyway.