Free Load Takedown Spreadsheet (Excel, UK)

Free Excel load takedown template for UK walls: enter kN/m² loads and spans for each level, and get characteristic and ULS line loads per wall, with a load library and footing width guide.

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Our free load takedown spreadsheet is an Excel workbook that works out the line load on a wall at foundation level. For each wall you enter the dead and imposed load (kN/m²) and the span either side for the roof and each floor that bears on it, plus the wall's own weight. The sheet adds them up and gives the total line load in kN/m, both characteristic (SLS) and factored (ULS), and a rough strip footing width. Every formula is visible, so you or your checker can follow it.

Why use a spreadsheet for a load takedown?

A load takedown traces gravity loads from the roof, through each floor and wall, down to the foundations. On one wall it is quick to do by hand. On every wall of a house, the same arithmetic repeats dozens of times, and that is where slips happen.

A spreadsheet keeps the hand-calculation logic and does the repeated multiplication and addition for you. You still decide the loads and the spans.

What is in the template?

The workbook has five tabs:

• Start here: the steps, a colour key and links to the articles behind each value.
• Settings: project details, the load factors (γG = 1.35, γQ = 1.5 from BS EN 1990) and the ULS combination. Pick Eq 6.10 (1.35 Gk + 1.5 Qk), or Eq 6.10a/6.10b, which takes the worse of 1.35 Gk + 1.05 Qk and 1.25 Gk + 1.5 Qk for each wall, as the UK National Annex allows. Also the allowable bearing pressure for the footing guide.
• Walls: eight wall tables. Three are filled in with an example house (an internal spine wall, a gable end and a front elevation) and five are blank. Each has rows for the roof, a second floor, first floor, ground floor, wall self-weight and any other line load in kN/m, such as a beam reaction spread along the wall.
• Summary: every wall's Gk, Qk, SLS and ULS line loads, the governing combination and the footing width on one printable page, with a bar chart.
• Load library: typical UK dead loads for floors, roofs and walls, imposed loads by category and the partition allowance, to copy from.

Blue cells are inputs, white cells are worked out and shaded cells are the results. The example loads are for demonstration only, so replace them with values for your own project.

The download is free and needs no account. The form asks for your email address before the file downloads.

How does each row work?

Every row uses the same formula:

Loaded width (m)  = (span 1 + span 2) × share
Line load (kN/m)  = area load (kN/m²) × loaded width (m)

The share turns the spans into a loaded width. For a floor that is simply supported (it just rests on each wall), each support takes half the span, so the share is 0.5. If a floor bears on the wall from both sides, enter both spans. If it bears from one side only, leave span 2 empty.

Take the first-floor row of the party wall in the example, with the floor spanning 4.6 m onto the wall from each side:

Loaded width = (4.6 + 4.6) × 0.5   = 4.6 m

Gk  = 0.5 kN/m² × 4.6              = 2.30 kN/m
Qk  = 2.0 kN/m² × 4.6              = 9.20 kN/m
SLS = 2.30 + 9.20                  = 11.50 kN/m  (characteristic)
ULS = 1.35 × 2.30 + 1.5 × 9.20     = 16.91 kN/m  (design, Eq 6.10)

The 2.0 kN/m² imposed load is the 1.5 kN/m² for a dwelling plus 0.5 kN/m² for movable partitions.

For the self-weight row, put the wall's weight per square metre of face in the Gk column, the wall height in the "Span 1 / height" column and a share of 1.0. A 7.8 m high wall at 4.0 kN/m² gives 4.0 × 7.8 = 31.20 kN/m.

The sheet then adds the rows to give the wall's total at foundation level. In the example the party wall comes to 51.52 kN/m dead and 19.00 kN/m imposed: 70.52 kN/m characteristic and 98.05 kN/m at ULS with Eq 6.10. Switch to Eq 6.10a/6.10b and the ULS drops to 92.84 kN/m, with 6.10b governing. At an allowable bearing pressure of 100 kN/m², the footing guide gives a 0.71 m minimum strip width.

The example values are typical figures for illustration; check loads and results with a competent engineer before using them in design.

How do I use it on my own project?

1. Mark up the plan

Before you open the sheet, mark the span direction of each floor and roof and the walls they bear on, as you would for a manual load takedown. If you are unsure how to read the drawings for this, see reading drawings for a load takedown.

2. Enter the loads

Fill in dead and imposed loads in kN/m² for each roof and floor. The Load library tab has typical values, and our UK floor and roof loads article explains where they come from.

3. Enter spans and factors

Enter the span of each floor on each side of the wall and set the share. Use 0.5 for simply supported spans. Where joists run continuously over a middle wall, that wall takes more than half: about 5/8 of each span for two equal spans. The one-way spans article explains why.

4. Add self-weight

Enter the wall's weight per m² and its height. The wall self-weight article has typical values for UK wall build-ups.

5. Read and check the totals

The Summary tab lists every wall. Use the SLS total for bearing pressure under the footing and the ULS total for member design, keeping the two apart. Our characteristic vs design loads article explains which one to use where. Then run a quick check of the takedown before you rely on the numbers.

For a whole house worked from roof to footing, see the load takedown worked example.

Download the free template

When does a spreadsheet stop being enough?

A spreadsheet suits simple, regular buildings with clear one-way spans. It gets harder when:

• Spans run in different directions or floors are irregular, so loaded widths are hard to set out as a single number.
• The plan keeps changing. Every revision means re-measuring spans and retyping rows.
• You need to show where the loads are. A table does not show which part of the plan each number belongs to, which makes it harder to check.
• Walls stop and start between levels. The sheet has no link between a wall and the wall or beam below it, so you have to carry those loads across yourself.

That is why we built LoadTakedown. You import the PDF pages as levels and trace the walls and spans over the drawing, and the app carries the loads down level by level with running totals, keeping characteristic and design loads apart. It uses the same method as the spreadsheet, with the geometry taken from the drawing. Our software comparison sets out when each tool fits.

FAQ

Is the spreadsheet really free?

Yes. There is no charge and no account. The download form asks for your email address.

Which code does it use?

BS EN 1990 with the UK National Annex. You can use Eq 6.10 (1.35 Gk + 1.5 Qk) or the worse of Eq 6.10a and 6.10b for each wall. You choose the area loads yourself, normally from BS EN 1991-1-1 with the UK National Annex; the Load library tab lists typical values.

Can I add more walls or levels?

Yes. There are eight wall tables, five of them blank, and each has rows for up to three floors and a roof. It is an ordinary Excel file, so you can copy a wall table or insert rows; check that the total formulas include the new rows.

Does it design the foundation?

No. It gives the line load at the base of the wall and a rough minimum strip width (SLS line load ÷ allowable bearing pressure), which ignores the footing's own weight. You still need to design the footing for the ground conditions.