Might be getting a Reefer 450, Structural Integrity?

[JoshH]

honestly it's not the end of the world and is really only a concern if the holes are under a significant load IE a 1000 pound reef tank. Was it smart for the builder to do, definitely not but at least you have a suspended ceiling so you can easily address the issue's where you need to. And yes essentially that is exactly what you would be doing covering up the big a** hole in the joist and pinning the electrical to the underside of the joists

 

[Leyth]

Ok cool, I have a miter saw, circular saw, cordless drill. Some 2x4s and some 1/2 inch plywood as well. I'm a new home owner so a lot of this stuff is new to me. If I cross brace and cover those, I should be alrigt for a reefer 450? I would probably just want to measure and monitor any sagging over time right? It's not likely to just drop through the floor one day I'm guessing.

I built this the other day so I'm eager to diy for sure.

 

[SteveSTL]

Looks like they ran duct work through it and then pulled it all out. You can run wire and plumbing through it (they even have knock outs for those so you don't weaken it) but HVAC completely compromises the strength.

 

[SteveSTL]

Is the house new? If so, call an engineer and or/the building inspector and get their opinion and if they say it needs to be redone, call the home builder and have him come out and redo it all.

 

[Leyth]

Is the house new? If so, call an engineer and or/the building inspector and get their opinion and if they say it needs to be redone, call the home builder and have him come out and redo it all.

Nope, the house was built in 1994. Those holes are all over. They're cut out at the same increment on every single joist in the basement.

 

[JoshH]

Covering up the holes and adding a few cross braces should be more than enough. Just make sure when you do cover up the holes the pieces of plywood are snug to the top and bottom plate if they are loose they will not serve there purpose as well as they should

 

[JoshH]

if it's at the same increment it was definitely HVAC

 

[Leyth]

Yea that makes sense, it looks like the exact same diameter of the hvac pipes.

So with this engineered joist, does it not matter as much if the tank is parallel along the joist? In the end, the tank will be up against the wall and only resting on one joist.

 

[JoshH]

It will be fine, the cross bracing will distribute the load between the sill plate and the adjacent joists so it won't be just the one joist holding it feel free to PM me if you have any other questions

 

[Leyth]

Thank you Josh

 

[JoshH]

Any time!

 

[Robert Vacchiano]

Have been a carpenter for over 40 years and had a really large tank on top of the same type of joist. Screw 3/4 inch plywood from top to bottom of joist At least the run of the tank and do all joist that are under tank. The joist with Those large holes under a tank will definitely fall if you do not reinforce them.

 

[Leyth]

Have been a carpenter for over 40 years and had a really large tank on top of the same type of joist. Screw 3/4 inch plywood from top to bottom of joist At least the run of the tank and do all joist that are under tank. The joist with Those large holes under a tank will definitely fall if you do not reinforce them.

Cool, so I would essentially be reinforcing the webbing right where the tank is going to be?

 

[JoshH]

As already stated above, yes

 

[Leyth]

As already stated above, yes

Lol sorry, I am being more that overly cautious for some reason. This topic makes me nervous, I'm going to end up checking the joists every day and forget to enjoy my tank once I finally do it.

 

[Robert Vacchiano]

Yes do all joist top to bottom and screw in top and bottom and run plywood at least as far as tank runs. I had a 600 gallon on top of same kind of joist for years with no problem. You could probably get away with 1/2 inch if you did both sides of each joist if only doing one side I would use 3/4

 

[dragonfisher33]

Looks like the idiot who built my house also built your house. I was facing this issue as well and my tank is only 150 gallon 5x2x2. My situation is slightly different since I needed the tank to run parallel with the 2 engineered I-beam. In the end, I sandwiched both i-beams with 2x's and erected 2 jack posts about 5 ft from the load bearing wall

 

[Leyth]

Looks like the idiot who built my house also built your house. I was facing this issue as well and my tank is only 150 gallon 5x2x2. My situation is slightly different since I needed the tank to run parallel with the 2 engineered I-beam. In the end, I sandwiched both i-beams with 2x's and erected 2 jack posts about 5 ft from the load bearing wall

Haha, dang that sounds like a lot of work. So i'm actually confused as to what defines running parallel. When we say we are running parallel to the joists, we mean the long side of the tank runs parallel to the joist right?

 

[dragonfisher33]

Haha, dang that sounds like a lot of work. So i'm actually confused as to what defines running parallel. When we say we are running parallel to the joists, we mean the long side of the tank runs parallel to the joist right?

Yes it was a lot of work. With the equipment and materials ready, it took 3 guys roughly 4hours to do because I had wires and what-nots there in the middle of the engineered I-beam.

Running in parallel means that the tank (length-wise) is in the same direction as the joists

 

[dragonfisher33]

Also do you have a hvac unit separate from the rest of the house in the basement? I find it hard to believe that there was some hvac work that was done, hence the holes in the engineered I-beam, since we are in two separate parts of the world with the same idiotic issue with the I-beams. Also like you, when I look across the i-beams that support the entire main floor, they all have these gigantic holes in them. Some I-beams, especially those long ones, have multiple holes