How to safely transport 125 gallon aquarium across town?

[ddang]

Gee that's a lot of stuff in the way. I think you only need to brace 1 joist though. The tank load should be carried by the foundation wall and the next joist over. They should be 16 inches apart. The tank should be about 18 inches wide. Some cross bracing between joists would be good if you could get it in there too.

That is standard construction. In an old house who knows what was built. Got any handyman friends that could take a look at it.
Look especially for improper drilling of the affected joists for utilities like plumbing. Sometimes stupid things have been done and the floor is holding the joist up. It has just never had any real load on it.
You mentioned the floor is sloping downward from the wall now. It probably wasn't built that way.

When you brace a floor you just keep it where it is. Dont try to lift it. That is a very bad idea.

So I think that joist by the foundation wall is quite close to the wall, perhaps within a few inches. If that’s the case and if the joists are 15-16” apart, and if the tank sits a couple inches from the exterior wall, then I think it might reach the 2nd joist.

I don’t know if that foundation wall is in the same vertical plane as the exterior wall, but I do know the foundation is cinder block, and what is exposed in a concrete parge which adds some layer of thickness.

Yeah, I doubt the floors were sloping when it was built. This is quite common in old houses for floors to slope over time due to settling. I have much worse sloping elsewhere in the house.

 

[ddang]

Some solid advice from wvned here for sure.

In addition to past events where someone might have hacked into a joist to run plumbing or electrical, it is also not unheard of for a joist to simply fail over time as a crack propagates through a knot in the lumber or similar. A small, extending, pocket mirror at a slight angle in combination with a bright flashlight should enable you to thoroughly inspect both of those joists.

Provided the joists are solid, I wouldn't personally be too concerned with the slope aside from ensuring the tank is leveled during set up... I've lived in plenty of old homes myself through my years and while they were all structurally sound, there wasn't a square or level surface in any of them any longer; time had taken its toll.

I will inspect the joists this weekend. Do you mean you wouldn't be concerned about having to add structural supports?

 

[Reefing102]

I’m not too much of a structural guy, so I’ll leave that to the others.

With that said, if the tank is staying where it’s at, I wouldn’t be concerned with the vent. In fact that makes a nice area for side viewing, and or additional storage later on if needed.

 

[wvned]

If you look at the bottom of the floor between the joists do you see diagonal planks? An old method of sub flooring.

 

[Jimbob]

N

I will inspect the joists this weekend. Do you mean you wouldn't be concerned about having to add structural supports?

No ... I would not be concerned with adding structural support and shimming the stand to ensure the tank, is level.

I would be concerned only if a structural/material defect was visible in one of the joists and if so, my concern would extend beyond just the tank. At that point, my concern would expand to the structural integrity/safety of the floor and home as a whole for long-term considerations and would recommend getting that addressed before getting the tank established.

 

[ddang]

If you look at the bottom of the floor between the joists do you see diagonal planks? An old method of sub flooring.

Yeah the subfloor is diagonal. Here's a video where you can see it:

https://imgur.com/1JQx73N

 

[ddang]

N

No ... I would not be concerned with adding structural support and shimming the stand to ensure the tank, is level.

I would be concerned only if a structural/material defect was visible in one of the joists and if so, my concern would extend beyond just the tank. At that point, my concern would expand to the structural integrity/safety of the floor and home as a whole for long-term considerations and would recommend getting that addressed before getting the tank established.

I took a look at the joists and some spots on the bottom surface are a bit chipped? Not sure the correct terminology but I feel like the joists may have came like that when the house was originally built.

 

[ddang]

I need to get clever with adding the support under that first joist... there's so much stuff there. I can't simply just put a support beam directly underneath it.

 

[wvned]

It's basically a 4-5 inch diameter tube with pads on both ends and one section has a screw thread to adjust the length. They dont take much room.

 

[Jimbob]

I took a look at the joists and some spots on the bottom surface are a bit chipped? Not sure the correct terminology but I feel like the joists may have came like that when the house was originally built.

Minor chipping would not be a big concern and I agree with you that they could have easily come like that. No floor joist is ever perfect even when new.

 

[ddang]

It's basically a 4-5 inch diameter tube with pads on both ends and one section has a screw thread to adjust the length. They dont take much room.

Yeah I went to Lowes to take a look at some options, but see the video I posted above. There isn't a direct vertical path between that joist and the floor unfortunately. It's partially blocked by electrical, the HVAC duct, and the PVC pipes.