How To Know How Much Weight My Floor Can Handle?

[VincentAquarium]

I'm wanting to own a 6ft by 2ft by 2ft tank and according to calculation websites this holds 450 litres which is approx 108 stone, the tank will be on a fully supported cabinet not just a four leg stand and across 7-8 joists but I need to know how much my floor can handle as I live in an upstairs flat and browsing google some are saying its ok some are saying it is not, how can I calculate it myself without necessarily paying a couple of hundred for an engineer (structural one) to tell me? This has me so confused and also I don't forget the tank will have more weight with the stand, gravel, etc etc.

 

[techen]

If you can get under the floor, you need to check the beams. Some flats are made out of wood and others are different.
 
There's no easy way to tell and sadly I wouldn't risk putting a insanely heavy tank onto a floor you don't know much about.
 
You could speak to the people that own the flat and ask.

 

[Zikofski]

i would say it would be fine, i have a 330L tank on 4 44x44mm posts on bare tiles and they hold it up nicely was worried of tile cracking or breaking and not a problem with sand and rocks my tank is between 400 and 500kg just an idea for you

 

[VincentAquarium]

According to: http/www.funqa.com/engineering/518-Engineering.html

Even a 4ft tank is too heavy for an average/normal floor either up or down.

As far as I know the joists are just normal ones and the tank would be running parallel and across roughly 8.

But this tank will weigh roughly or just above half a ton, I really don't want any problems and if this size tank went through the ceiling it could be very dangerous.

Is it rather easy to strengthen joists as obviously I cannot cement them, I'd rather do the reinforcing approach and know it can handle it but of course every house is built differently. So awkward...

Anybody kept a large aquarium upstairs?

 

[techen]

I've heard of many people having huge tanks upstairs in there flat. Only most of them were made out of cement and not wood.
 
I myself would never risk it in my house. I know overall it's all wood and our house is pretty old. 

 

[VincentAquarium]

I've heard of many people having huge tanks upstairs in there flat. Only most of them were made out of cement and not wood. I myself would never risk it in my house. I know overall it's all wood and our house is pretty old. 

I know these houses are old that's 100% sure.

These size tanks are very heavy and that's what I'm worried about incase anything bad happens.

What is my next step as I really want this size tank.

 

[the_lock_man]

As advised in your previous thread, the only way to be sure is to engage a structural engineer. No-one on an internet forum can say for sure. If anyone says yes, go for it, and you do, and they were wrong, there are serious consequences, for you, financially.

 

[snazy]

You need an engineer to evaluate it because theres a great difference between buildings. I personally have a 4f, next to a 2f deep tank, both in total holding over half a ton for sure. Further down on the same floor I've got  60l and a 30l. I  have cement floors. And I now have a 5f tank in a different place. I know its not a comparisson, but imagine what amount of weight the bath should hold for example.

 

[VincentAquarium]

As advised in your previous thread, the only way to be sure is to engage a structural engineer. No-one on an internet forum can say for sure. If anyone says yes, go for it, and you do, and they were wrong, there are serious consequences, for you, financially.

I understand what you are saying but can some knowledge on the subject from people not help me? Even reading myself tells me that even a 4ft is too heavy so wouldn't paying x amount of £'s for a engineer tell me the exact same be a waste of money and time?

It seems some people actually risk it and just do it without any precautions.

I'm really interested to know what is the exact amount of weight a floor can handle before it goes bang (average wooden floor not concrete) as it seems different sites say different answers.

I best not tell my downstairs neighbour the actual size of the tank and its calculations because I know if it was me and this size was above me it wouldn't make me feel comfortable in all honesty haha.

You need an engineer to evaluate it because theres a great difference between buildings. I personally have a 4f, next to a 2f deep tank, both in total holding over half a ton for sure. Further down on the same floor I've got  60l and a 30l. I  have cement floors. And I now have a 5f tank in a different place. I know its not a comparisson, but imagine what amount of weight the bath should hold for example.

If I had concrete floors then everybody knows it wouldn't be a problem as I don't think any size tank will cause problems for concrete and this is why so many people are able to go a bit crazy in sizes with concrete floors.

If the crunch comes to the crunch I will and might just have to settle for a 4ft tank, I do want a 6fter though as it fits perfect in the alcove.

 

[Clearwaters]

every house is different, floors, structures, load berring walls differ, really no one can give you an answer on here, it would have to be looked at by someone who knows what they're talking about.

 

[frapadoodle]

every house is different, floors, structures, load berring walls differ, really no one can give you an answer on here, it would have to be looked at by someone who knows what they're talking about.

Exactly! What other things are not known. Every hole for a pipe or wire drilled in a joist weakens it. How much of the load on the floor is carried by interior walls, downstairs? How much of a load from above you is transfered to your floor?Did pipes burst at some point in the past, causing the joists in one area to swell and then contract? Has there ever beem insect or rodent damage? Have thier been repairs made to the joists?

Oh, wait, wrong answer.

Yeah, go ahead, after all none of us know what we're saying, even those in building trades.

 

[CezzaXV]

The others are right. Every house is different, and we just plain don't know. There is no such thing as the "average" floor, because building regulations and standards vary wildly depending on when the house was built, how well it was built (i.e. was it meant to be an expensive house or was it knocked up quickly and cheaply?). So many factors that we just don't know. We're not structural engineers, and frankly even if we were I would still get someone in to look. If not for the financial element of if something goes wrong, then for the fact that you could very easily kill the people living below you if the floor caves in.

Even a four foot tank would make me feel uncomfortable on an upstairs level.

 

[VincentAquarium]

You lot are right I guess the only way to know 100% is to get someone who knows whether I can or not.

That's my biggest worry and would make me so uneasy to even sleep is if it holded for a period of time then one day I came in from work and my sitroom floor had fallen through.

Exactly, even 4ft tanks weigh a lot, I really don't want to be face with having a tank in the back yard in a built up shed/cabinet, I want it in my sitroom.

 

[Clearwaters]

You lot are right I guess the only way to know 100% is to get someone who knows whether I can or not.
That's my biggest worry and would make me so uneasy to even sleep is if it holded for a period of time then one day I came in from work and my sitroom floor had fallen through.
Exactly, even 4ft tanks weigh a lot, I really don't want to be face with having a tank in the back yard in a built up shed/cabinet, I want it in my sitroom.

Looks like you need to move house then............

 

[cpwebsite]

The tank you are looking at is 180g which means when fully loaded it can way a ton or more... literally! That's like parking a small car in a smaller space. If I were you, I would pay the few hundred bucks and get a structural engineer just for peace of mind, would you really want to risk breaking your floor on what a few people said and others disagree with? That could cost $10,000+