Factory-direct steel gratings & stair treads, shipped worldwide
Bar Grating Weight per Square Foot
Grating weight sheets and charts, free from the factory.
Method and unit conversion explained below · Verified lb/ft² values provided with your quote
3,000 ㎡ workshop, 4 product lines
Welded, press-locked, treads and stainless under one roof
Grating weight, checked per batch
Certified & tested, reports on request
Engineers reply in 24 hours
Weight data and itemized quotes, free
FOB Tianjin
About 400 km to port, shipped worldwide
The calculation method
How Bar Grating Weight per Square Foot Is Built Up
Bar grating is priced, shipped and supported by weight, so the number has to be honest. Instead of pasting a copied table, here is the method our engineers use: bar steel per unit of area, plus cross bars, plus banding. The verified lb/ft² values for your exact configuration are provided with your quote. The same calculation drives a grating weight per m² (per square meter / per m2) figure for metric drawings, and the steel grating weight formula below is what both unit systems start from.
Weight per area = bar steel + cross bars + banding
Weight per square foot = (bearing-bar mass + cross-bar mass + banding mass) contained in 1 ft² of panel
Grating is mostly air. The open mesh is what makes it drain and stay light — and it is why the weight per unit of area is driven almost entirely by how much bar steel sits inside that unit, not by the panel's overall size.
Bar pitch — the biggest lever
Our welded line runs bearing bars at 30 / 40 / 60 mm centers. One foot of panel width (304.8 mm) holds roughly 10 bars at 30 mm centers, but only about 5 at 60 mm — closer pitch means more steel, and the weight climbs almost in proportion.
Bar section — height times thickness
We produce bearing bars from 20×3 mm up to 100×8 mm. A 25×5 mm bar carries 125 mm² of steel per metre of length; step up to a taller or thicker section and every bar in the panel gets heavier at once.
Cross bars and banding
Twisted square or round cross bars, their spacing, plus end banding and trim bars all add steel per unit of area. On small or heavily banded panels the edges are a noticeable share of the total.
Material and finish
Carbon steel weighs 7,850 kg/m³; stainless grades differ slightly. Hot-dip galvanizing to ASTM A123 / ISO 1461 adds a thin zinc coat, so a galvanized panel weighs a little more than the same panel in black.
| Driver | Our real range | Effect on weight per square foot |
|---|---|---|
| Bearing-bar pitch | 30 / 40 / 60 mm centers | Closer centers add bars per foot of width — the single largest weight lever |
| Bearing-bar section | 20×3 mm to 100×8 mm | Taller or thicker bars add steel in every bar at once |
| Cross bars | Twisted square / round, per specification | More cross bars per metre add steel across the panel |
| Banding & trim | End banding, trim bars to drawing | Fixed edge steel — matters most on small panels |
| Material | Q235B · SS304 · SS316 | Density shifts slightly by grade; verified per configuration |
| Finish | Black or HDG (ASTM A123 / ISO 1461) | Galvanizing adds a thin zinc coat — sheet lists black and HDG side by side |
Want the verified values instead of the theory? Ask for the weight sheet — it is provided with your quote, free.
Unit conversion
lb/ft² and kg/m² — One Number, Two Units
Our engineering data is calculated in metric kg/m²; most US-bound projects specify lb/ft². The number is the same physical panel — only the units change. This is the conversion logic, applied to whatever verified value your quote carries.
| Unit fact | Value |
|---|---|
| 1 pound | = 0.4536 kg |
| 1 square foot | = 0.0929 m² |
| 1 square metre | = 10.764 ft² |
| 1 lb/ft² | ≈ 4.88 kg/m² |
| 1 kg/m² | ≈ 0.20 lb/ft² |
lb/ft² → kg/m²: multiply by 4.88
kg/m² → lb/ft²: divide by 4.88
Two checks before you trust any converted figure
- Confirm the designation the source table assumes — pitch and section decide everything.
- Check black vs galvanized — the zinc coat shifts the value slightly.
- Our sheet arrives with both unit columns filled in, so nobody on your team re-converts by hand.
Why buyers ask
Why the Weight per Square Foot Matters to Your Project
Buyers rarely ask about weight out of curiosity. Three planning decisions sit on this one number — and all three get easier when the value is verified rather than estimated.
Shipping & freight
Total panel area × weight per square foot sets the shipment tonnage — the basis for container plans and FOB Tianjin freight.
Handling on site
Panel weight per area × panel size tells crews whether a panel is a two-person carry or a crane pick — before lifting gear is booked.
Dead load on supports
The grating's own weight is a permanent load your beams and brackets carry for life — structural engineers put it in the model.
Steel quantity & budget
Weight is the honest measure of steel bought. Quotes itemized per m² or per ton start from the same verified figure.
Made simple
Read Any Bar Grating Weight Table in Three Steps
Confirm the designation
Every row of a weight table is a pitch-plus-section combination — for example a designation built on close centers with a mid-size bar. Match it to your project before reading the number, not after.
Check construction and finish
Cross-bar type and spacing, banding, and black versus hot-dip galvanized all shift the value. If the table does not say which it assumes, the number is not usable for ordering.
Apply your areas and units
Multiply by the panel areas in your schedule to get tonnage, then convert once between lb/ft² and kg/m² so the whole team works in one unit system.
The panels behind the numbers
The Panels Behind the Numbers — Our Real Production Range
| Parameter | Range |
|---|---|
| Bearing bar | 20×3 mm to 100×8 mm, plain or serrated |
| Bar spacing | 30 / 40 / 60 mm centers |
| Cross bar | Twisted square or round, per specification |
| Panel width | Up to 1.25 m |
| Panel length | Up to 6 m |
| Materials | Q235B carbon steel · SS304 / SS316 stainless |
| Surface | Black or hot-dip galvanized (ASTM A123 / ISO 1461) |
| Close mesh | Down to 11 / 11 mm on the press-locked line |
The verified weight table — provided with your quote
We publish the method, not a fixed table, because a wrong weight is worse than no weight. The sheet that accompanies your quote is built for your configuration and checked by our engineers:
- lb/ft² and kg/m² columns, side by side
- Black and hot-dip galvanized variants listed separately
- Weight checked per batch on our five-stage QC plan
Request the weight sheet → · 19W4 designations explained → · Bearing bar options →
Standards & compliance
Weight Data You Can Check — Documents on Request
ANSI / NAAMM MBG 531
Panels produced to MBG 531 reference practice — the designation system your weight table rows are built on.
ASTM A123 / ISO 1461 HDG
Galvanized coating thickness checked by sampling on every batch — the finish that adds those extra ounces per foot.
CE & SGS tested
Certified & tested, reports on request — grating weight checked per batch, documents with every order.
From data to order
From Weight per Square Foot to a Priced Order
Send your panel schedule
Areas, spans, bar pitch and quantity — or just a sketch. Tell us black or galvanized and which unit system your project uses; drawing review is free.
Quote and weight sheet within 24 hours
An itemized quote, FOB Tianjin as standard — EXW or CIF negotiable — with the verified weight table in lb/ft² and kg/m² attached.
Samples in 5–7 days, production in 15–25
Working days after drawing confirmation, hot-dip galvanizing included. Small trial orders welcome.
Free from the factory
Get the Weight Sheet With Your Quote
Ask for grating weight support — a factory engineer replies within 24 hours with the verified table for your configuration, in both unit systems.
- lb/ft² and kg/m² values, black and galvanized, per pitch and section
- Five-stage QC, from MTC verification at goods-in to final inspection
- DoC, MTC EN 10204 3.1 and inspection report with every order
Prefer to talk? WhatsApp us or sales@dtsteelladder.com
Request the sheet and quote
Five fields — we do the rest.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does bar grating weigh per square foot?
There is no single fixed number — weight per square foot moves with bar pitch, bar section, cross bars and banding. It is built up as the bearing-bar steel in one unit of panel area, plus cross bars plus banding, then converted using 1 lb/ft² ≈ 4.88 kg/m². The verified lb/ft² values for your configuration are provided with your quote.
How do I convert grating weight between lb/ft² and kg/m²?
Multiply lb/ft² by 4.88 to get kg/m², or divide kg/m² by 4.88 to get lb/ft². The factor follows from 1 lb = 0.4536 kg and 1 ft² = 0.0929 m². Carbon steel weighs 7,850 kg/m³ and hot-dip galvanizing adds a thin zinc coat, so a galvanized panel weighs slightly more than the same panel in black.
Why do buyers need the weight per square foot before ordering?
Three reasons: it drives freight planning from Tianjin Port, it sets what crews and cranes can lift and carry on site, and it feeds the dead load your supporting steel has to carry. The weight sheet is attached to your itemized quote within 24 hours.
Related pages
Related Specification Pages
25x5 Grating Unit Weight
The metric method for one specific section — kg/m² built from pitch and section area.
View page →Galvanized Bar Grating Weight Chart
How the zinc coat shifts weight — black vs galvanized values compared.
View page →Grating Load Table
The other half of specifying: allowable load by span and designation.
View page →Bar Grating Load Calculator
Work out uniform and point loads before you pick the bar section.
View page →Grating Panel Dimensions
Panel sizes and areas — the multiplier that turns unit weight into tonnage.
View page →19W4 Steel Grating
The designation system most US weight table rows are built on.
View page →