Supporting the floor

[LGB76]

I am currently setting up my 120 gallon aquarium. I am going to use adjustable floor joists to reinforce where my tank will sit. Only problem I am running into is locating a floor joist that will span 9ft. In height. Longest I can find span to 8'4. Can I use 2 of these and put a 6x6 on top of the floor joist that will match up to a header that I will span across the length of the tank?

The tank will be centered on a corner of an exterior wall. So it will sit diagonal of the floor joist it will hit at least 4 floor joists. Not perfectly perpendicular.

[mcgyvr]

You shouldn't need to do anything for a 120G tank unless your home has structural problems.

But yes whatever will work just fine.. Put the floor jacks on pier blocks or add wood,etc...

[Flippers4pups]

I even sistered my floor joists and placed a 4x4 under the length. Way overkill, but I didn't want the floor to bounce when we walked near the tank.

[laga77]

You are using adjustable jacks not joists. Yes, you can use the 6x6. You don`t need a 6x6, you can nail 2- 2x6`s together, or 2- 2x8`s.

[LGB76]

You are using adjustable jacks not joists. Yes, you can use the 6x6. You don`t need a 6x6, you can nail 2- 2x6`s together, or 2- 2x8`s.

if I nail 2 2x6's together are you suggesting I lay them on end?

only reason I am going to use a header and a 6'6 or whatever is, is becuase I will need the extra height. I cannot find a adjustable floor jack that will reach the height I need. seems like they forgot about 9ft...

[ericarenee]

So what your saying is the tank is Sitting long ways from the outside wall to 9 foot into the room?

If So how far over the beam in the center of the basement...

If the Floor Joist has Bridging in them i Seriously Doubt you need anything .

If you want to be Safe and use a Jack anyway..

Build a BOX HEADER..... Use 2=2x6 or two 2x8 with a 2x4 on the top and Bottom with a piece of plywood in between to make up the difference..
Stand this up and andgle screw it into the joist once you Run the Jack up tight. The 8 ft 4 jack is that height for the above beam..... Do NOT Use a 6x6 even under pressure like this they can warp as they are green on the inside because drying does not reach the core......

Hope this helps.

But as i said . Proper bridging between the Existing Joist will provide stability and prevent floor shaking... It turns your floor joist into a solid beam in that area...

If you have a newer house with Floor Trusses or Lam i beam construction... USE TWO JACKS . Each one about 1 foot in from each end of the tank...I Do NOT Trust them with long term Dead Weight.. ..

Good Luck... The above is a GUESS . Pictures could help to confirm what you really need.

[LGB76]

the floor jacks will go in my basement... from the floor to the joists is 9ft.

the tank will be on the floor above my basement. it will sit in the corner of a room. it will not sit perfectly against a wall, it will be centered in the corner. the stand and tank are 48" long.

The tank will not be any where near the main beam that runs through the middle of my basement. the tank however will be sitting on an outside wall that will be a load bearing wall.

[davocean]

I seriously doubt you need anything, but this is another that pics would help give best and easiest solution.

[RWEngineer]

I seriously doubt you need anything, but this is another that pics would help give best and easiest solution.

I agree

[ericarenee]

i seriously doubt you need anything, but this is another that pics would help give best and easiest solution.


+3

[laga77]

if I nail 2 2x6's together are you suggesting I lay them on end?

only reason I am going to use a header and a 6'6 or whatever is, is becuase I will need the extra height. I cannot find a adjustable floor jack that will reach the height I need. seems like they forgot about 9ft...

As others have stated you may not need these at all. But if you feel you do, then yes you need more than one jack, and you can stand the 2x6 on edge. Most jacks have holes in the head to nail or screw the framing in place. This is all you really need as they won`t be caring a lot of load.

[Flippers4pups]

326940

This is the way I did it.

[herring_fish]

http://cdnimages.opentip.com/thumbs/HDL/HDL-NWBP-56_280_280.jpg

Well, it looks like you already have it licked but for others that will read this, I did something similar but lower tech.

I had a little lower sealing so I could use 8 foot lengths but you could buy 10 footers a cut them close. I just used 4” by 4”s. I was afraid that a jack could eventually fail so I use a couple of thin concrete blocks to get two 4” by 4”s within about an inch of the cross beam and used cheap chims to fill the gap, plus a little more to jack it up …just a little.

Chims? You know, those wooden triangles that are about 4 to 6 inches long and about 2 inches tall. I put a couple of them together to form a spacer and then drove a third and fourth in to fill the remaining space. I alternately hammered them together until they began to raise the cross beam. I hammered until the house began to ring, a bit like a bell. I have done something like this before and the ringing sound is how you know when you have good weight on the supports. Then I hammered one side some more to get the waterline in the tank level.

I was lucky I guess. My 4 by 4’s never bowed at all. The floor was solid as a rock upstairs but the best part is that I never had to worry about the jacks failing.

[Shawn O]

Since this is sitting cater-cornered on an inside corner, as Erica said, you shouldn't need extra support. If it will make you feel better or keep the better half happy, you could sister up a couple 2x10s to make up the difference in height. Run them at a diagonal, just like you're doing with the tank. This will give the front of the tank the extra support. The rear corners of the tank will be against the wall and will not need more support. Heck, if you're going to go through the effort of making a support structure, why bother with adjustable jacks? Nail the 2x8s to the underside of the floor joists to temporarily hold it up and use 2x4s to make the vertical supports, sort of like building a roughed-in door frame.

[ericarenee]

This.. between the Joist at the end of the tank away from the wall. You must run them from the exterior of house (band board) to the Beam the joist sits on (often center of the house to work

but shawn wall will also work but only if you add more Jack studs and bridging between them. standing 2x upright will warp under a load.......


OF Course this Goes back to what your Floor assembly actually Consist of...



http://daveosborne.com/construction-dictionary/images/bridging.gif