Floor support question

johniii

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I am soon to get a new tank.(build to come) tank is going to be a 150. The wall on my house where it is going to go run parellel (spelling)
To the beams. How would one go about supporting a floor. I have a crawlspace. And I am very capable of doing the work. I was thinking I could laminate the floor joist with some plywood. Add some cross braces in between the boards and pour footing for six 4x6 timbers to support the joist.

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My father in law is an engineer and architect. I was (at one point) thinking about a 5' 150g that would be over my basement, parallel to the joists, and in the middle of the span. After the load calculations what was required for the load was to "sister" another 2x10 to the 3 joists under the area and crossbrace between them (I didn't know this was a significant factor in load handling).

The only rule I gave him was no posts can go in the room below (pool table).
 
What size are the beams/joist. What type are they? How far do they span. How far apart are they?

Edit: The cross bracing/per liners are to insure that the joist stay in a vertical position which is where thaey are the strongest. If done properly they also add compression to system as well adding to the load capabilities .
 
2x10 16 centers 14 foot span
They are pine joist. Not engineered
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FWIW, that is exactly my room's situation (including the span)... but Grouper has forgotten more than I've ever known about lumber. :D
 
Sounds like Barry's father in law is dead on. Use No 2 yellow pine 2x10. Most of them will have an arch or crown in them. Put them with the crown up if possible. I prefer solid 2x10 bracing in between.
 
I am doing the same thing, a 150 gallon that will be parallel to the joists underneath.


I ended up having a structural engineer come in and survey it, and write me up a plan.

I used Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) to sister 3 of the joists, with a fourth LVL to sister the header on the center support beam that supported one end of the joists.

They're all bolted together with a lot of 5/8" steel bolts.
 
GiulianoM;726279 wrote: I am doing the same thing, a 150 gallon that will be parallel to the joists underneath.


I ended up having a structural engineer come in and survey it, and write me up a plan.

I used Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) to sister 3 of the joists, with a fourth LVL to sister the header on the center support beam that supported one end of the joists.

They're all bolted together with a lot of 5/8" steel bolts.
I think the engineer heard 1500 not 150:eek:
 
I am in the same situation Only with a 227 gallon tank. What my builder has told me is the same and to add 2 block pillars under the tank.

Edit: Does that sound right Grouper? And would the joists need to be bolted?
 
bruce 1;726313 wrote: I am in the same situation Only with a 227 gallon tank. What my builder has told me is the same and to add 2 block pillars under the tank.

Edit: Does that sound right Grouper? And would the joists need to be bolted?
Sounds right . You guys adding anything in these crawl spaces do not forget to treat for termites. They will tunnel right up those block pillars.
I like bolting the joist but with cross bracesI'm not sure it is needed.
 
grouper therapy;726312 wrote: I think the engineer heard 1500 not 150:eek:

It was more like 230 gallons, 150 plus about 75-80 in the sump.

He specified LVL for two joists, and I added a third.
 
<span style="color: black"><span style="font-family: Verdana">You could do as I posted in the other thread but yes, make sure you line the top of the pillar and allow plenty of overhang of some aluminum flashing. Then have at lest the first wood block to be treated. </span></span>

<span style="color: black"><span style="font-family: Verdana">A cross header would be cheaper than the LVL but will also take up some space due to the min of 2 pillars. Even though it’s under the house you still need to make sure that you have a properly poured footing below the frost line and then criss cross the concrete blocks. You can the add 2 wedges one from each side to take up the difference between the header and the first wood block. </span></span>


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grouper therapy;726319 wrote: Sounds right . You guys adding anything in these crawl spaces do not forget to treat for termites. They will tunnel right up those block pillars.
I like bolting the joist but with cross bracesI'm not sure it is needed.

I always add a piece of flashing just for extra termite protection whenever adding pillars

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For what it's worth, the LVL beams were only about $40 each, for a 2x10 12' long.
 
The joists are cheap. Getting them where they're needed can be tricky. My drop tile ceiling in the basement had to be finagled a bit to get the two joists that I added in.
 
As long as you put the tank next to a load-bearing wall, you should be fairly safe. I located mine on a corner of an outside wall and an inner load-bearing wall.

From there, I simply built up cinder block footings on each corner of the tank (I actually just made a triangle, with the center up against the load bearing wall and the two legs on the front corners).

If your crawl still has dirt under it, just dig a little grooved trench with a hand trowel and bury your blocks down about an inch. From there, I adjusted the height of the blocks to the beams. To tighten them up, I hammered plywood pieces in between the gaps with a mallet to get a tight seal. No concrete...No floor jacks....no extra joists.

So far, so good. It has all held flush for around a year without incident with a 125 gallon tank.
 
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