![]() ![]() Structural engineers have calculated that the dead load has a force of about 10 to 15 pounds per square foot. This includes the floor itself plus walls, plumbing, tiles, and other building materials. The dead load is everything that is permanently built into the home. Dead and live loadsĪll this engineering is designed to safely support your home’s “dead load.” These load-bearing supports make sure the floor does not sag under the people’s weight, inner walls, showers, cabinets, and so on. Homes without a basement use shorter columns or stacks on cement blocks to provide extra support for the floor joists. The columns prevent the floor joists from sagging under the weight of the home’s interior walls, furniture, and people. These columns hold up a wooded or steel beam right under the floor joists. If your home has a basement, you’ll usually find metal supports that look like upright pipes spaced along the center of the room. The long beams alone can’t hold up the weight of the house. The floor joists ultimately support the weight of the home and everything you put in it.īut the floor joists need some support too. Engineering building codes specify joists to be installed every 16 inches.Ī plywood subfloor is nailed on top of the joists. ![]() They typically measure out to be about 2-inches thick and 8 to 10-inches wide. Wooden beams, called floor joists, are assembled into a support structure that spans the concrete block foundation on the perimeter of the building. This makes it easier to understand how all the parts of a floor work together to support a load. We should start by explaining a few important building concepts. ![]() If your house uses a traditional wooden floor or you plan on setting up your tank in an upstairs room, this article is for you! Understanding support If your home is on a concrete slab, the first floor will be very strong and able to support the aquarium. That’s one reason why an aquarium can burst at the seams and drain within seconds. The floor can also buckle and twist, causing strain on the silicone seams that hold the tank together. Like the aquarium stand, the floor under a heavy tank has to be able to support the full weight of the aquarium. When you set up a large aquarium in your home, it puts quite a bit of weight over a small area of the floor. If the stand collapses, you’ll lose your fish and damage your home. Water, glass, and ornaments add up to a lot of weight, and you don’t want to rely on a flimsy piece of furniture to keep your aquarium secure. "Whereas with the fish, because they are suspended in the water - it is like they permanently fly.We’ve often discussed the importance of using a sturdy aquarium stand to support your tank. Jack says he spends around £40 on fish food, and £100 on electricity to power the aquaria every month.Īsked why he chose fish over any other animal, Jack said: "Even if you have a massive bird cage, the birds will only fly for a few seconds - most of the time they are just standing or sitting. "I want to get more into it because right now it is not a business, I would like it to become a business."Īlongside structural and maintenance challenges, the monthly fees are not a bargain either. "I would like to build fish tanks for other people too and make a living out of that. He is hoping that he could make a living out of what he loves most. Jack used to work as a technical officer at Gedling Borough Council, but has now decided to dedicate all his time to maintaining the aquariums and start a new business. "It does not have the glory of an exotic fish, but I was able to decorate it this time." "As soon as I changed it to native fish, that problem just vanished immediately. "And also condensation - the room above would always be steaming because the water was warmer. "I had two main reasons for changing it - the first one was the electric bills. "This one used to be all tropical fish, now it is all native fish from Britain except the carp, which was introduced hundreds of years ago. "If I was to do it again, I will probably build it as an extension of the house, because building it inside was very complicated," said Jack. (Image: Olimpia Zagnat)īut building and maintaining such a large aquarium in an old house comes with its costs. Jack Heathcote, 47, built all the fish tanks himself. ![]()
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