[Beowulf] removing tiles around heavy racks?

[Bruce Allen]

>> Since this is a safety issue, I suggest you contact the floor manufacturer
>> and ask their engineers directly.  I wouldn't trust any response that you
>> get from this newsgroup as definitive.
>
> good advice.  unfortunately, vendors tend to give numbers so safety-padded
> that they're unrealistic.  for instance, designing machinerooms based on
> the peak theoretical load of a computer's PS - say 500W for a dual-opteron
> which I can measure consuming <250W under load...

I have talked with the engineers at Tate Access Flooring several times. 
I don't think that they gave me numbers that were excessively 'safety 
padded'.  For example they told me that the 1250 floors would support 
approximately three times that point load before structural collapse. 
However the tiles would have irreversible deformations greater than 0.1" 
if the point load exceeded 1250 pounds.

So I suggest that you call the flooring company first, then decide if you 
believe what they tell you.

Cheers,
 	Bruce