2nd floor collapse?

13 posts • Page 1 of 2

Discuss all topics related to saltwater / reef tanks.


singapore
 
Posts: 238
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:47 pm

by singapore

yeah its all about how sturdy your floor is. maybe contact someone who knows the details of your floorplan/blueprints


jweb1369
 
Posts: 547
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:55 am

by jweb1369

I'd say about 1300 at most. But Maybe buy a stud finder and make sure it is sitting evenly on studs. I would definately check the wood though to make sure it's clean good solid sturdy wood and not rotted. Also you can possibly buy something to disperse the weight like a larger stand or something... just a thought.


schigara
 
Posts: 468
Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:42 pm

by schigara

The closer it sits to a load bearing wall the better. I'd worry if it were out in the middle of the floor joists.


jweb1369
 
Posts: 547
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:55 am

by jweb1369

shigara has a good point also because the beams are better supported and have less chance of bowing if not breaking.


littlej2455
 
Posts: 193
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:30 am

by littlej2455

i have seen someone pull up there carpet and pour concrete down on their second floor to make sure it was sturdy enough.


Snowboss4492
 
Posts: 2098
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:24 pm

by Snowboss4492

ill add that ..............the more area your stand has for a foot print the better off you will be - - -i.e. 4 legs is more dangerous than 6 or even 8 legs because all that weight is distributed onto the feet........doesn't matter how massive the stand is ......it the square inches on the floor that cary the weight

my mother has a beautiful hutch in her kitchen .....it's huge and it has little tiny legs........so about 800 lbs of wood are standing on about 4 square inches ......and yes there are indent marks in their very nice hard wood floors...................so becareful

a building inspector can tell you for prolly a 50 dollar courtesy call



useless fact - - - - 100% of our body weight is carried on 2% of our bodies {our feet, lol} same principle

Boss


puffedupseagull
 
Posts: 623
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:38 am

by puffedupseagull

Hello i'm a builder from Australia, and can tell you that over here, floor BEARERS or JOIST on second level homes are generally made from 200mm x 45mm treated pine timbers, in older houses they could be made from hard wood, which makes them even tougher.The spacing of these bearers are 450mm apart. depending on the design of the home they could run front to back or side too side of the house.Assuming your tank is on a side wall and ur bearers run side to side of the house i would be running some lengths of timber long ways across the span of your tank stand. Say ur tank is 6ft then the stand would be 6ft so the length of timber would be 6ft to span between the outer legs. This will absorb the weight more evenly in a downward motion on to ur bearers. If your bearers run front to back the span timbers from front to back of your tank stand. You can use a stud finder to locate bearer direction, or look for plaster joins or nail marks in the lower roof. I think the floor on its own would be ok to support that weight on its own, because its the same as a lower level area that has not got a concrete slab, but to be sure that would be the best way.


jweb1369
 
Posts: 547
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:55 am

by jweb1369

Yea best bet is to spread the weight out. Set the stand onto a couple of massive boards that can hold that much weight and not crack or bow and make sure its near a side wall, you should be okay. I would still ask a professional though.


jav36
 
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2007 12:32 pm

by jav36

i know how you guys said to spread out the weight. i think the stand im getting wont have any legs? is that good?


newbie916
 
Posts: 375
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:12 pm

by newbie916

I'm not an engineer or builder, but my parents have had a 2500 lb gun safe that has been on the second story for 20 years. We looked at the design plans and figured out where the support beams were and placed the safe along the wall. So far they haven't had a collapse yet.(knock on wood). I'm assuming that it would be the same with your tank. Best bet would be to ask a friend who is an engineer or contractor and ask them to take a look at your floor plans. THey could probably assist you in where the safest place to put your tank is. Anyways, good luck.

2nd floor collapse?

13 posts • Page 1 of 2

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