Can my Floors handle this?

[CJH]

Hes not an MFKer but doesnt mind. Ive already talked it over with him. What about downsizing the tank to 12'x4'x2'x?

Is the tank going to be running parallel with the beams or perpendicular to the beams?

Assuming that the tank is running parallel with the beams, will it be centered over any one beam or will it be more between two beams?

And what is above the steel beams on a mobile home? A typical floor joist system? If so, what kind of material?

 

[SuperDave]

also I'm thinking that the cinder blocks need to be on concrete, and not just on dirt below the house, I cant really tell what there sitting on. And instead of wood being used as shims that that I see at the top of the cinder blocks you need to use steel shims. Wood will break down and or crush over time. But that's just my observation on the cinder blocks underneath.

 

[AndrewMack]

it will be over atleast 2 beams with cinderblock piers

 

[swede]

over time, even with that being on the steel beam, you will literally make the whole structure lean. to put it in perspective, thats like having about 4 hondas on one side of the home. that is A LOT of weight even for a steel beam

 

[AndrewMack]

whats the biggest i should go with? what about making it 18" tall

 

[SuperDave]

hey Andrew, how long do you plan on living there. Is it for sure your going to be there for a very long time, like the rest of your life.

If so you could do something more permanent. Like laying the cement slab down cutting the floor and doing the build right from the ground up. ya it sounds crazy but so is putting a tank that size in a mobile home.

 

[AndrewMack]

ill be here for 3 years

 

[SuperDave]

I would wait until your retired or out of the service to build your dream tank. I would stick with 250 gallons and below while in the service.
I served 13 years in the Army until got out on a medical discharge, "thanks to Iraq" so i know whats it like man. With me in my case I never knew when the Army was going to send me somewhere or how often I was going to be deployed. My unit even de -activated and we had 3 months to prepare and move the families and the Battalion 200 miles, so anything can happen.


I don't know if you get deployed or how often you go to the field and for how long. But someone has to take care of that tank while your gone. And having something around the 250g size is more manageable, and you wife or who ever can be able to assist you in taking care of that tank while your away from home.


What you could do also is while your in the military, is get stationed in the state that you want to live in for the rest of your life. And buy a house while your stationed there, and get paid off post housing allowance to pay for your house payments while you live there. And then do everything you can to stay at that duty station as long as you can. And then once you have to leave, you could request a "hardship tour" and you should get your station of choice after you complete that tour and you can go back to your home. Also while your away, the service will keep paying your wife and family to live at your home. So the payments keep getting made.

What happens is that the Service is paying off your house and its not costing you anything, sometimes you can make a little money.
Im sure there is more people at your unit level that can help fill in all the details and if you talk to enough people you will know who is doing it.

Just an idea, as it could help you get your big tank sooner and with out the hassle of moving it latter on in life.

 

[nitrofish1]

ill be here for 3 years

well, with your stock listing, you could downsize to 10x4x2.5

 

[KYeasting]

I would think about putting some more steel under the house as well as more cinder block piers before trying this. Steel beams are far stronger than we usually suspect, but don't overestimate their strength. The longer the beam, the greater the deflection you'll experience. The beams will probably hold the tank, but your floor will be all wavy! Look up the construction code for the "Live Load" and "Dead Load" for which your floor was designed. "Live Load" is stuff such as furniture, people, and objects that move in and out, while "Dead Loads" are permanent items, and include the weight of the floor/roof. Codes are written not only so floors and roofs are built to safely hold themselves up, but also so they do not experience great deflection under load. However, if you get close to or exceed the loading specified in the code, you're at risk of doing some damage.

If you had the floor plans and beam sizes for your house, as well as the tank dimensions, I could take a stab at calculating the loads you'll see. This is the kind of stuff I do here at school!