Floorboard strengthening

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wardie

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 1, 2005
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Hartlepool UK
My brother wants to purchase a 4x2x2ft tank with a wooden stand. The only problem is that the joists under his floorboards are in the wrong direction for the tank to run across the joists. Does anyone know how to strengthen a wooden floor to accommodate about 1/2 ton in weight ?

Cheers
 
It entirely depends on the location of the load on the floor. For example, if it's next to a wall, or in the middle of the floor. What is beneath the location? Could you add columns? What size are the joists? Is the floor a hardwood floor, or is it OSB with carpet on top? What is the joist spacing?

There aren't any great ways to laterally reinforce a floor system to support a point load without adding columns. Diagonal cross bracing would help, but it will eventually fail. The only solution I'd suggest is to add a plate under the tank to distribute the weight, but you're talking about a 10'x10' pad and get it as close to columns as possible.
 
What you could do is build a 3 1/2 ' X 5' false/sub floor to lay on the floor to put the stand and tank on. As long as you can get the weight distributed evenly it should be safe. When you think about it, they have set up waterbeds on paper cups for displays.

If you build this and if I have my math correct you would build the floor 3 1/2' x 5' outer dimentions and add a joist every 7.125" then lay a peice of 3/4" marine plywood on top of that. Then you could trim it out with nice molding and carpet it or lay some sort of floor tile.

Just a idea and thought.

Not only will it help distribute the weight, but it will make leveling the tank alot easyer, Just level the sub floor. ;)
 
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