How to figure out floor support?

[Squirtle919]

Hey MFK

So I went and got 2x150s and well I want more bigger fish after seeing lots of the tanks some people have here my gold fish bowl is not so amazing anymore!

I would love to have it on my 2nd floor as its where I mainly am seems smart to place it where I can admire the fish a lot more then in the garage but If it wont work I might consider it!

Anyways I cant figure out exactly what is supporting it, Our house was built by my grandpa *German XD * I know there is cement there maybe 6-10 inchs not sure on the support beams, Most of our walls are cement with blue brick at 6 inchs thick also.

Not sure If it will hold a tank 500G at smallest 1000G at max! Dont mind on dimensions was thinking circle till I got the quote for it lol...

I cant figure out where the beams are or anything..it holds our marble pool table for the past 30 years but thats not so heavy? A few guys who worked with my grandpa said it will be fine knowing him but I dont want to risk it so was wondering if there is anywhere to check without getting someone out to check!

Or should I just put it in the garage and figure out a way of cheap insulation so heating it wont cost an arm and a leg every year! Maybe I can just turn the 20M pool into a tropical fish tank?

Thanks in advance!

 

[skjl47]

Hello; (OLDRECYCLEDPOST some words will run together, this happens when I copy and pasteto the forum)) Here are some webaddresses about floor capacity. The first address is a new one from a post byanother Monster Fish forum member a while back. Here are the addresses againwith the first being new to the list. Floor capacity depends on a lot of criteria,there is not a simple answer to the question.

This web address is added to the list http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/aquarium_weight.php It is perhaps the easiest to follow.

http://www.ehow.com/how_7485788_calculate-floor-load-capacity.html

The web address above is a site about calculating loadcapacities of floor joists. They use a formula for the strength of a beam: maximum load in pounds = FBd^2 / 9L.

The width of the woodjoist in inches is B (1.5 inches forstandard 2 by dimensional lumber.)

The depth in inches is d (7.25 in for a standard 2x8.)(9.25 in for a2x10)

The distance (span) in feet is L (Unsupported distance)

F is somethingcalled the fiber stress when wood bends. It varies with the type of wood butgraded lumber will be at least a 1,000 number, some are higher.

They use an example of 2x10 floor joists with a span of 14feet on 16 inch centers and come up with 1,019 pd for each joist. They figure the area supported by each joistas 18.7 sq ft. They get 54.5 pd per square foot of floor area. I think this includes the weight of theflooring and anything else that is supported by the joists.

I looked at some other sites (Addresses listed below) andfound a discussion of static loads and live loads. Two sites describe how to measurethe deflection of flooring due to weight loads.

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/deflecto.pl



http://www.awc.org/calculators/span/calc/timbercalcstyle.asp?species=Douglas+Fir-South&size=2x8&grade=Select+Structural&member=Floor+Joists&deflectionlimit=L%2F480&spacing=16&wet=No&incised=No&liveload=80&snowload=-1&deadload=10&submit=Calculate+Maximum+Horizontal+Span

I found these sites interesting but hard to pin down for ageneral rule of thumb. Too many variables involved; Type of wood, condition ofwood, dimensional lumber or engineered truss, age of wood and on and on.

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=62845&page=10

 

[Squirtle919]

Thanks for that skjl47!

they are all good! Just wish i had a clue what mine are all I can see is cement! I did find a red steel frame in the wall for the 3rd floor but the 2nd seems to hard to find anything but cement else I rip the carpet up.

The misses mad a very weird suggestion not sure if she is smoking something or not! turning the garage into a fishroom/tv room, might be a better option as i have gone from 40G tank too 100G and just keep going and going !

Thanks for the advice but! maybe something more light is suited for up top but!