What we build · Free Weights & Platforms
The Zone That Decides the Building
Platforms, racks and heavy free weights. The zone that determines whether a space can be a gym at all.
Before you sign. Tell us the programming and we will tell you whether the space can carry it.
Impact
A dropped weight is a load event, not a static one
Structure
Noise travels through the slab, not around it
Pre-lease
We will look at a space before you sign it
Licensed
General contractor, licensed in the state of Florida
Impact loading is not on the drawings
A structural drawing gives a design load in pounds per square foot, which is a static figure. A dropped barbell is a short, enormous impact concentrated on a small area, and a slab adequate for the stated static load can still transmit that impact to the tenancy below as a noise and vibration event.
What has to be assessed
- Whether the slab is on grade or suspended, which changes everything.
- Impact loading, assessed by an engineer rather than assumed.
- What is directly below, and how sensitive they are.
- Platform isolation from the structure, not just rubber on top.
- Rack anchoring, which imposes its own loads.
How we handle it
- 01Establish slab type and structure before anything else.
- 02Get impact loading assessed where the slab is suspended.
- 03Build isolated platforms rather than laying rubber on a slab.
- 04Anchor racks to the engineer's detail.
- 05Locate the zone with the neighbor below in mind.
Put the free weight zone on grade wherever the space allows. A slab on grade transmits impact into the ground rather than into a building, and that single layout decision removes the problem that gets gyms evicted.
Said plainly
Where we stop
On a suspended slab above an occupied tenancy, heavy free weight training may not be achievable. We will say so before a lease is signed rather than building something the operator will be asked to stop.
FAQ
Common questions
- Is rubber flooring enough?
- It reduces some impact and does not stop structure-borne transmission. Isolated platforms do.
- Does slab type matter?
- Enormously. On grade transmits into the ground; suspended transmits into the building.
- Is the design load figure enough?
- No. That is a static figure and a dropped weight is an impact event.
- What if we are above another tenant?
- Heavy free weights may not be achievable. Better established before the lease.
The constraints
The Structure
Whether the floor is a slab on grade or a suspended structure is the single most important fact about a gym space.
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The Neighbors
Gyms are asked to leave buildings over noise. Who occupies the surrounding space is a pre-lease question, not an operational one.
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Mechanical Capacity
The base building mechanical was almost certainly sized for a different use, and a gym imposes far more load.
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The Lease
The work letter describes what the landlord provides, and that description is where most gym budget surprises originate.
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Operating Hours
A facility open around the clock has security, access control and building-systems requirements a nine-to-five one does not.
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More what we build
Cardio & Machines
The largest floor area and the least structurally demanding, with its own power and cooling requirements.
Read more →
Studios
Group fitness, cycling and yoga studios. Each has a different sound problem and a different floor requirement.
Read more →
Functional & Turf
Turf lanes, rigs, sleds and open training space. The zone most constrained by ceiling height.
Read more →
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.