Big tank on second story apartment or house

[iloveoscars702]

how can you tell if its a load barring wall?

 

[goldies88]

Since you did mention apartments... i have a 200G on the 7th floor of an apartment... although i know as a fact i have nothing to worry about since its all solid concrete...

Sure ,i wouldn't worry about that in Hong Kong either. We know how they build those apartments . Concrete forest what we used to called
I haven't really heard someone had their tank fall through somebody 's ceiling either.........

 

[Nemesis]

I have 245 Gallons total spread out between 2 rooms in my 2nd floor apartment. I have nightmares of the floor falling in, or my tanks leaking downstairs. I am avidly looking for a floor level 3 bedroom, so I can stop being so paranoid, and get some more tanks. Sometimes I ask myself if it's even worth it......... HELL YES!!!

 

[livebearerfreak]

BETTER BE CAUSE im getting a 2nd story one bedroom apt and my 75 is commmin with me!

 

[congo1040]

I have a 180 gal, 2nd floor apartment with no problems.

 

[DBL TAP]

If you're a Renter with aquariums two words: "RENTER'S INSURANCE" Protect yourself! Especially if you live in California. lol

Good luck

 

[alotadollars]

i have seen a 220g on 2nd floor no prob

 

[komodo182]

Just ask your landlords.
mine told me I could have up to 180 gallons in each room if its against the wall.

 

[Twigg]

how can you tell if its a load barring wall?

"Load bearing" usually refers to whether or not a wall is currently supporting a load other than it's own weight. Most walls, except flimsy partitions are capable of being load bearing, but not all are asked to.

The ways to tell are straightforward.

If you have more than one floor, then any wall that is below an upstairs wall is load bearing. Any upstairs wall that has attic joists terminating above it is load bearing. Nearly all outside walls are loadbearing.

If you have a crawlspace, then any wall can be loadbearing if it goes right down to the piers, forming a direct line from the wall to the ground below it.

By the way, a crawl space is easy to reinforce as you can build additional piers anywhere that you can get access to.

Some internal wall "can" be loadbearing if attic joists run over them even if they don't termiate, because the wall may have been used to reduce the effective span of the joists.

It's usually pretty easy to tell. If you have any doubt, get a builder or engineer to advise you.

 

[Twigg]

ps ....

The other way to tell is to remove the wall. If your house noticeably sags, or falls down, then it was load bearing.