Know a Good Structural Engineer?

[sirvine24]

I searched the archives and found the common question of will my floor support my very large tank, and the answer is usually get a structural engineer. Can anyone refer one? The first two I called won't work with condos, and the third said it would take $3K to take a look and run calculations. I was a few hundred, $500 max.

I live in (own) the 3rd floor of a triple decker in Dorchester, originally built in 1909. It was gut renovated in 2006 and recent home inspections confirm that all the structure/foundation is in good shape. I'd be putting a 100gallon tank (4ft) + sump against a load bearing wall with joist running perpendicular. I pulled some city permits and it seems the floor joists are 2x8's spaced 12" on center, so the tank would span 5 joists.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Spudsly]

For perspective, how heavy is your refrigerator and what footprint does it have? I bet the load on the floor is only a factor of 2 or so higher for the tank. Now, I wouldn't go making any life changing decisions based on a back of the envelope calculation... but I think you'll end up finding if you are spanning joists near a load bearing wall you'll be fine. I don't want to advocate not being cautious, especially with someone elses decisions, I think your concerns are totally justified.

For fun I just googled how much water in a washing machine - currently it's ~27 gallons but I guess they used to use 40 gallons in a frame that's what? 2x2?

 

[reefstarter]

According to my math you will have roughly 300 lbs per joist if you span 5 the deciding factor is how far the joist span . After 6 feet the live load capacity decreases a lot . With that structure you are looking at about 40-50 per share foot , which is more than it seems

 

[sirvine24]

Thanks for the speedy replies. The joists span 12'. That's a load bearing wall in the middle of the condo to the exterior wall.

 

[reefstarter]

should be fine chances are those are the "real " 2x8's for that period meaning they actually measure 2 inches by 8 inches , not like the new ones that are more like 7.5 x1.5 inches

 

[sirvine24]

To close the loop on this in case anyone searches, I did find an engineer to take a look at the house. He was experienced with these older homes where a lot of the structure isn't exposed. The good thing is, he confirmed everything that was stated in this thread, thanks again for the help.

The charge was $400 for a 1 hr assessment and report stating that the aquarium would be safe. Probably overkill, but it is piece of mind and gives me something to reference in case my neighbors below say anything. Here is the website, but feel free to move if this isn't the appropriate place to reference a vender http://www.renemugnierassociates.com/