Finishing / Moldings on an in-wall...

[XSiVE]

So Im curious on what anyone's thoughts are on this..

With an in-wall tank with drywall on the outside, if you put your stand right up against the drywall, you've got a bit of a gap, usually 1/4-1/2inch because you cant really push the tank out to be flush with the drywall..

basically, in my situation I think Im going to be stuck like this:

I thought about possibly cutting the hole for the tank about 1 inch larger all around the sides of the tank, and mounting some molding to the stand, but then the molding will be butting up against the drywall, and it just wouldn't look good.

I've also thought about just putting some moldings ontop of the drywall, but then there's going to be like a 1" gap between the molding and the front of the tank(width of the molding + width of the drywall).. I just think that's going to look pretty bad also.

I need some other brains, or experience to help me out on this.. how can I make it look good? how can I make the molding flush against the tank maybe?

 

[Esquare]

Make the top of the stand overhang the stand enough to be flush with the drywall so the tank can be flush with the drywall. Then trim out in molding like a window.

 

[XSiVE]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13191081#post13191081 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Esquare
Make the top of the stand overhang the stand enough to be flush with the drywall so the tank can be flush with the drywall. Then trim out in molding like a window.

So you're saying.. take the plywood top of the stand and make it extend just another 1/2" so it's flush with the outside of the drywall, then set the tank out there?

Here's the issue.. it's a glass tank with a plastic rim, won't that compromise the tank slightly? since the front glass will essentially be floating out there, and not supported by the actual stand? The way I see that working, the tank would only really be supported on 3 sides.

 

[Esquare]

3/4" ply extended out 1/2" can carry a lot of weight. You're dealing with a cantilever situation so it shouldn't be a problem.
But, I totally understand having a comfort level and overbuilding to that level.

 

[psteeleb]

my setup is a little unique, but mine is resesed and uses a crown molding to finish it off

sorry I can't post or see pictures from work, but I'm pretty sure there is a sketch and pictures someplace on my build log
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1320654&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

 

[crvz]

yeah, I wouldnt worry a whole lot about 1/2" overhang on the stand if it's supported by plywood. But, of course, this would be a function of the width of the tank. what size are you talking about?

 

[XSiVE]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13192177#post13192177 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crvz
yeah, I wouldnt worry a whole lot about 1/2" overhang on the stand if it's supported by plywood. But, of course, this would be a function of the width of the tank. what size are you talking about?

it's a 48x24 120gallon.

 

[builderguy]

You should do a "window return" trim. Basically get some 1/4" or 1/2" trim stock and attach it to your window casing trim that will surround the opening...it will cover the edge of the drywall. It's the way a lot of window casing is done when the window jamb doesn't reach flush with the drywall.

 

[a1amap]

I had a similar setup as you describe. My tank was flush with the drywall.

I don't have a closeup picture of the trim but I used a 1/2 inch sq piece of wood and framed the tank along the top of the drywall. I then finished the outside like a window or door. The 1/2 wood covered the gap from the drywall to the tank and gave me a solid surface to nail the trim onto. Warning, Use the correct size nail.

The trim wood I used was made to match the bar a build next to the tank. If you look closely at the next picture below the top of the bar; The trim wood is in 4 spots on the front. It covers the seams of the plywood. (Bar Is 11 ft long and I wanted the grain to go up not across.)

There are 2 things I would do differently and will change this fall. 1st the top will be on hinges. It is a pain to place anything or clean the glass looking down into the tank. 2nd The 2x4 that I used for the top section would be done differently. There are multiple problems with it being so close to the water. It gets wet all the time from splashes and moisture in the air that it has a mold problem. It also blocks the light. I have to have the lights set back a bit to allow for the space taken by the 2X4. I have a fix to take care of both these issues at one time. I am going to have the top section recessed a bit and use a sealed plywood with drywall covering it. the ply is for support and will have the drywall as a finish. I will use some cabinet hinges to hide the hardware. To achieve a seamless appearance on the sides I will use drywall c channel which when joint compounded on both sides will give a nice tight seam.

 

[Indymann99]

I dont find the gap all that unattractive, however I have thought about adding trim strips to the sides of the tank. I was more concerned with covering the top of the tank so the waterline just barely shows.

The light is on a shelf that tilts up for access to the top of the tank. I set the cabinet at 36" off the floor. I wanted to keep both top and bottom as open as possible for access.

 

[kingsland]

I not only wanted no gaps, I did not want to see silicone from the front view. The cabinet face sits on top of the sheetrock on the front side. The sides have joined pieces attached to the backside to fill the gap to the tank and they overlap the siliconed corners of the tank by about a 1/2". I did leave a very narrow gap between the cabinetry and the tank to allow for expansion/contraction.

 

[crvz]

alright, all you guys are just showing off. great looking in walls.

 

[builderguy]

I don't know how well you can see it in this picture, but I overlapped the trim to cover the sides too and did the same kind of return back to the tank that kingsland did

 

[randomworker]

You can use something called J BEAD to cover the edge of the drywall. Here's a link to a website to give you an idea of what it looks like.

http://www.trim-tex.com/catalog/jbeads.htm

You can just leave the aquarium on the stand like your orignal diagram and the edge of the drywall is covered by the J bead. The j bead is then painted the same color as the drywall...

 

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13193030#post13193030 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by a1amap
I had a similar setup as you describe. My tank was flush with the drywall.

There are 2 things I would do differently and will change this fall. 1st the top will be on hinges. It is a pain to place anything or clean the glass looking down into the tank. 2nd The 2x4 that I used for the top section would be done differently. There are multiple problems with it being so close to the water. It gets wet all the time from splashes and moisture in the air that it has a mold problem. It also blocks the light.

Too funny... I am looking at my own setup, down to the trim and framing. I also woulod do it differently. I do not have a mold problem, because I have narrow glass covers atop the front 3 inches of tank (under the 2x4 header). I just don't like how much space over the tank is loss. If I ever fix it, I will simply allow the front trim and a thin header to support the drywall and move the actual header up far enough to accomodate moving my reflectors forward 3 inches.