DIY floor stabilizer advice needed please please!!
- Thread starter Ullopincrate
- Start date
I'm now leaning to using the screw jacks (because the adjusting factor does make more sense) and spanning the joists over an 8' area under the front of the tank. Would a 4 X 6 post be a good brace with 2 screw jacks? I was just thinking that a 2 X 6/8/10 is less than 2" wide could have a tendency to lean over time because it isn't part of a frame but only screwed/nailed into place, but something 4" would be more stable. Or I suppose using 2 2 X 6/8/10 nailed together before being attached to the joists.
4 X 4, 4 X 4, 4 X 4, 4 X 4, 4 X 4,
Jack.............................. Jack
Jack.............................. Jack
Jack.............................. Jack
Pavers..........................Pavers
Pavers being in a stack of 3 like a pyramid.
Or I suppose using 2 2 X 6/8/10 nailed together before being attached to the joists. Same concept as above.
Thanks for all the input. Sometimes it's hard to filter all the ideas in one's head without asking for the thoughts of others. I appreciate your help.
Oh and I almost forgot to answer one question...... will the bottle jack under the reef tank fail over time. I believe it will. I plan on replacing it probably with a screw jack.
4 X 4, 4 X 4, 4 X 4, 4 X 4, 4 X 4,
Jack.............................. Jack
Jack.............................. Jack
Jack.............................. Jack
Pavers..........................Pavers
Pavers being in a stack of 3 like a pyramid.
Or I suppose using 2 2 X 6/8/10 nailed together before being attached to the joists. Same concept as above.
Thanks for all the input. Sometimes it's hard to filter all the ideas in one's head without asking for the thoughts of others. I appreciate your help.
Oh and I almost forgot to answer one question...... will the bottle jack under the reef tank fail over time. I believe it will. I plan on replacing it probably with a screw jack.
Anyone think the 4 X 4 idea above will suffice? 4 X 6? I plan on doing this project tomorrow so time is of the essence. I could put it off but I would like to get started.
for what its worth i* did 2x6s with pavers, cement blocks, 2x4s and shims to support my floors.. the plan is somewhere around 400-600 gallons with a 7' footprint... i doubt ill* do anything else to the floor..
*by "i" and "ill" what i mean is "jim did crawled under my house because i am just too much man to be confined in that small of a space...
*by "i" and "ill" what i mean is "jim did crawled under my house because i am just too much man to be confined in that small of a space...
I've quite confident that you will be fine with two 2x4s screwed together as the beam... and two screw jacks on each end...
If you decide to go a bit bulkier and use a 4x6, help yourself, no harm done... I would place it so the 4" is up and down & the 6" is front to back...
I wouldn't use two 2x6/8/10... although if you wanted to bulk up beyond two 2x4s, but didn't want to use a 4x6... I would use more 2x4s...
Keep one thing in mind. If you put 14 sx4s screwed together as a beam... the screw jack will only come in contact with one or two of them thus making the rest for show only. Keeping this principle in mind I guess the 6x6 sounds liek the best bet...
The 'pyramid' of pavers sounds like a winner to me...
PS - Chester... ^5 at getting someone else to go under...
If you decide to go a bit bulkier and use a 4x6, help yourself, no harm done... I would place it so the 4" is up and down & the 6" is front to back...
I wouldn't use two 2x6/8/10... although if you wanted to bulk up beyond two 2x4s, but didn't want to use a 4x6... I would use more 2x4s...
Keep one thing in mind. If you put 14 sx4s screwed together as a beam... the screw jack will only come in contact with one or two of them thus making the rest for show only. Keeping this principle in mind I guess the 6x6 sounds liek the best bet...
The 'pyramid' of pavers sounds like a winner to me...
PS - Chester... ^5 at getting someone else to go under...
I just crawled under the house. My house basically has two sections. The "original" house. Then the added on part, which is as big as the "original". The place where my tank is sitting.......I assumed was built the same way. I was surprised to find the joists running in a different direction. They run parallel to the tank instead of perpendicular to it. However, I have a brick wall 6" behind the tank and to my surprise...2' in front of the tank is what appears to be an 8" X 8" set every few feet with brick columns. The joists are cross braced the old fashioned way with Xs. I basically have a span of about 4' between an 8" X 8" main brace and a brick wall. I am now starting to think I may not need anything. I might just hang a plumb off the joist and fill the tank 25% and wait a day (make sure no leaks after move) and add another 25% each day until 100% is achieved. In the event that I notice the plumb getting closer to the ground I may add a screw jack. Opinions on that? I am going back under the house to the crawl space and do some measuring with a tape measure.
I might just run a small 4 x4 section perpendicular to the tank between the brick and the 8"x8" and place one screw jack. Or does the fact that the joists running parallel with the tank screw up that integrity. One additional fact is that the flooring appears to be oak tongue in groove boards
I might just run a small 4 x4 section perpendicular to the tank between the brick and the 8"x8" and place one screw jack. Or does the fact that the joists running parallel with the tank screw up that integrity. One additional fact is that the flooring appears to be oak tongue in groove boards
"I am now starting to think I may not need anything."
Now you are talking my language.
"I might just hang a plumb off the joist and fill the tank 25% and wait a day (make sure no leaks after move) and add another 25% each day until 100% is achieved. In the event that I notice the plumb getting closer to the ground I may add a screw jack. Opinions on that?"
I'd hang it off the ceiling...
Now you are talking my language.
"I might just hang a plumb off the joist and fill the tank 25% and wait a day (make sure no leaks after move) and add another 25% each day until 100% is achieved. In the event that I notice the plumb getting closer to the ground I may add a screw jack. Opinions on that?"
I'd hang it off the ceiling...
