Will my floor hold....???

[o1dguardso1dier]

So....I recently bought a 150 gallon 48x30x24 and planned on putting it on the second floor of my town house. I am suddenly concerned with it crashing into the basement. I was wondering if that was anything to concern myself with. I used to have a 110 in my old house, not that that's relevant. I do know that to be absolutely safe, I should have someone insect the house, which btw isn't that old (1988 I think), but I just wanted to see if anyone else here has taken this route. I'm just looking for a group consensus.

I am in the Washington DC metro area (Rockville, MD) so if anyone has had this done in their area, please let me know.

Thanks for your insite

-Waterman

 

[Len]

It's really hard to say. It depends on how the house was built and the exact location of the house. Usually, it's not recommended to add a tank that size on the second floor. The only way to find out is to figure out how your floor joists are spaced and supported. Putting the tank close to a supporting wall helps.

 

[Anonymous]

If the house was built in 88 AND up to code, then it should be fine. Do be perfectly safe and minimize any sagging placing a tank over a wall on the first floor will help support it from the bottom.

 

[Sea Turtle]

I really don't think that you have much to worry about with that much water. Water weight 8.35 lbs per gallon. That is 1,250 pounds for a 150 gallon. If you think about it, that would be equivalent to about seven 180 pound people standing in one area of your house. I can tell you, I have had parties at my house that have had a hell of a lot more people in one are than that. Could it be too much, maybe, but I doubt it.

 

[Len]

All houses (especially newer houses) will "settle" over time though, so placing that much weight (with equipment and furniture, it'll be over a ton in a very small area) does raise concerns IMO. A party of people that only lasts for one night with weight distributed evenly isn't the same as a 2000 pound item in a stationary 15 sq ft area

The best thing to do is to place it next to a load bearing support wall. These places are the strongest and won't experience as much settling.

 

[Sea Turtle]

Agreed.

Probably wouldn't be too hard to add some support in the basement. Why not?