Plywood thickness under sump

[crabbydan]

I have a 5 foot wide Steel stand. I plan to put plywood on the bottom section where the sump goes. The stand has a left cross beam a middle cross beam and a right cross beam with a 2.5 foot gap between them. I also have the back wall and front wall cross beams the plywood will lay on. I have 1/2 inch plywood in stock at home. My question is how do I know if this is strong enough to hold a 40 to 45 gallon sump?

I hope I described this enough to understand what I am asking?

Any advice? Yes to be safe I can go out and buy a 3/4 inch sheet of ply wood but since I have the 1/2 inch laying around i'm thinking why not use it?

 

[lowtek]

Hello, Well since I'm using 1/4" ply under my 44x20x16 sump, I think 1/2 is more than enough. Just try to get the cross beams as flush as you can to the rest of frame to eliminate any bowing/flexing from the ply and I'd say you're good. Also I would cushion the sump too. I'm using those silicone non slip tool box drawer liners to cusion mine and its been good since February.

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[thegrun]

Personally l would not go any thinner than 3/4”. Two layers of 1/2” for a total of 1” would be ideal. If you get any sagging at all it places a tremendous amount of pressure on the sump and you risk a major disaster. The price of a piece of plywood is a small cost considering the risk.

 

[lowtek]

Personally l would not go any thinner than 3/4". Two layers of 1/2" for a total of 1" would be ideal. If you get any sagging at all it places a tremendous amount of pressure on the sump and you risk a major disaster. The price of a piece of plywood is a small cost considering the risk.

Very true if there were no cross members. But you are right better safe than sorry. Then again a 1 foot gap between cross members makes for a quite strong platform

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[thegrun]

Very true if there were no cross members. But you are right better safe than sorry. Then again a 1 foot gap between cross members makes for a quite strong platform

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If I'm reading his post correctly (and I certainly may not be) there is a 2-1/2' gap, but either way I would go with at least 3/4" plywood.


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[lowtek]

If I'm reading his post correctly (and I certainly may not be) there is a 2-1/2' gap, but either way I would go with at least 3/4" plywood.


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Sorry I forgot to mention to the OP that I would add a cross member between each 2.5 gap which will help stop sagging otherwise 3/4 ply might be in order. On my stand I spaced my cross members a little over a foot apart. Flush with frame on both top and bottom with 1/4" ply and no problems. My son was playing around on it before I added my sump even. I did however use 3/4 ply under my 60x32x22" DT. As long as both ends and middle of sump is resting where the cross members are I dont believe you will get sagging issues. I'm no expert by any stretch but my system hasnt collapsed yet. Knock on wood. Hopefully i was of a little help. Good luck

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[crabbydan]

Good advice. The sump is acrylic no bottom trim also the stand only has the one cross brace in the middle and is complete so just going to get the 3/4 plywood which I then do 2 coats killz and 2 coats epoxy appliance paint.