Structural Question
- Thread starter clifg
- Start date
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Ludders
Valuable Member
You need to find out how strong the floor is. A good gauge is to just measure as you go up the stairs, the ceiling to upper floor thickness, but you will also need to establish the joist direction.
clifg
Well-Known Member
Does a stud finder work for finding joists as well?
Ludders
Valuable Member
I'm not certain, but did you want the tank against that wall in the picture? I am guessing that's the bathroom? Usually the joists will span in the direction of the narrowest section. In this case you if you do want the tank there, you might need to strengthen the floor depending on how large you want to go. What were you thinking of size in gallons?
clifg
Well-Known Member
Really just anywhere that will support it. It's a 55gallon that I would be moving. The picture is just from the listing, hence why that's the only one I have for now. Thanks!
Ludders
Valuable Member
Yeah a couple of things and just wondering what your stand/cabinet is like for you tank, specifically how is the load spread? Mine has adjustable feet, which would create a pressure point on the floor board, so I would want to look as distributing that weight a bit better if I were putting it upstairs.
Ludders
Valuable Member
I have 3 floors in my house, the floor thickness is about 13" between the 1st floor
The top floor is less, but I put the floor in and used aluminium beams which span the wall plate, so don't need to be as large as wooden joists. This is more expensive, but gives me a few extra inches of usable head height on the top floor.
Make a note of these dimensions when you next go out.
Also how old is the house?
Buildings standards have generally mproved over time.
Assuming there's a bath tub up there, make a note of its orinantation. This isn't always a give away, but could give a clue to the direction of your joists.
The top floor is less, but I put the floor in and used aluminium beams which span the wall plate, so don't need to be as large as wooden joists. This is more expensive, but gives me a few extra inches of usable head height on the top floor.
Make a note of these dimensions when you next go out.
Also how old is the house?
Buildings standards have generally mproved over time.
Assuming there's a bath tub up there, make a note of its orinantation. This isn't always a give away, but could give a clue to the direction of your joists.
