Floor Beam/Joist recommendations

[JCorso]

Is it necessary to add floor support? Thoughts and opinions welcomed/appreciated.

Due to the layout of the house the only place it makes sense to put tanks described below. Beams are 7' apart (3-1/2" x 9-1/4" solid wood). Joists are 18" apart (2-1/2" x 9-1/2" engineered wood i-beam). House was built in '02 and everything is very close to level/plumb.

1. Picture with feet.. 180gal (72x24x24) The tank would sit almost dead center between the two beams in the background and parallel to the joists (L/R edges of the tank would be approx 6" away from the two beams). Thinking I may need to add some support here. Any input would be appreciated.

2. Picture with no feet. 240gal (96x24x24). The tank would sit very close to centered across the two beams and against the wall supported by the 4x4's in the background but parallel to the joists again.

I'd love to reinforce everything everywhere but dragging materials down there to do so is going to be a motherf***er. There are areas where there's barely enough room for me slide between the ground and the floor horizontally to get to where I took these pictures.

p.s. Been mostly out of the hobby for about 16 years. Military retirement more than anything means I can keep real fish again so here we go!

- J

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[Drstrangelove]

Is it necessary to add floor support?

Ask a structural engineer familiar with reinforcing and/or evaluating homes for an opinion on what to do and how. An architect who designs homes in that area might be a distant second choice.

None of us can see your foundation (the earth under the house), how the house has "settled" over the years, any defects in the current structure, nor the actual flooring and walls.

Items which would be insignificant to the layman (subtle defects) like a slight warping in the wood, a faint amount of wood rot, otherwise minor insect infestation, a slight wall separation, unusual leak spots, intentional yet weakening cuts made by the builders to install the flooring and substructure, cracks or defects in the footings under the house, unusual soil composition, et al. might tell an engineer all he/she needs to know to advise you.

You might still choose to not take their advice, but it would be an informed decision.

You can of course find people who will tell you 1) you are fine 2) you are not fine 3) it will work if you do this 4) it will not work unless you do this 5) or relate numerous success or horror stories.

Good luck in what ever you finally choose to do.

 

[JCorso]

Appreciate the reply. You're right re the 1-5 so I just picked up a handful of tiger posts and 4x4's. Hope for the best but plan for the worst and all that. Thanks again for taking the time.

 

[DN328]

Is it necessary to add floor support? Thoughts and opinions welcomed/appreciated.

Due to the layout of the house the only place it makes sense to put tanks described below. Beams are 7' apart (3-1/2" x 9-1/4" solid wood). Joists are 18" apart (2-1/2" x 9-1/2" engineered wood i-beam). House was built in '02 and everything is very close to level/plumb.

1. Picture with feet.. 180gal (72x24x24) The tank would sit almost dead center between the two beams in the background and parallel to the joists (L/R edges of the tank would be approx 6" away from the two beams). Thinking I may need to add some support here. Any input would be appreciated.

2. Picture with no feet. 240gal (96x24x24). The tank would sit very close to centered across the two beams and against the wall supported by the 4x4's in the background but parallel to the joists again.

I'd love to reinforce everything everywhere but dragging materials down there to do so is going to be a motherf***er. There are areas where there's barely enough room for me slide between the ground and the floor horizontally to get to where I took these pictures.

p.s. Been mostly out of the hobby for about 16 years. Military retirement more than anything means I can keep real fish again so here we go!

- J

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I was in the same situation 3 years ago. I had to support roughly 3500lbs is my conservative estimate. In my case my tank sits directly on top/parallel to the existing beam as shown in your crawl space.

I ended up adding two 8', 8"×4" beams parallel to the existing beam. Here are some pictures.

 

[JCorso]

Looks like a good job. I've been thinking I may go the same route as opposed to 4x4's supported by jacks. Still undecided at this point. The pictures are much appreciated though. ..How much fun was it to drag those cement blocks down there?

 

[skjl47]

Ask a structural engineer familiar with reinforcing and/or evaluating homes for an opinion on what to do and how. An architect who designs homes in that area might be a distant second choice.

Hello; I second this with gusto. A third choice might be an experienced contractor.

If you go the DIY route consider "boxing" the floor joists in the area where the tank(s) will sit.

 

[DN328]

Looks like a good job. I've been thinking I may go the same route as opposed to 4x4's supported by jacks. Still undecided at this point. The pictures are much appreciated though. ..How much fun was it to drag those cement blocks down there?

We essentially followed how the builders set up the existing beams. We also thought about sistering the joists that run perpendicular but ended up not thinking it was needed.

The cement blocks wasnt that bad to be honest. Just went through the standard opening through the crawl space. We had to cut one of air vents outside to slide the 8' beams through. It was a tight fit but went fine overall.

I have gone down a couple times since then after the tank was in place. Everything settled as expected. Those two additional beams makes me feel better.