Air Tank Support

If it's only the tank, figure 1,000#. I looked on the net. You could have, too.

Put a plate of your choice under it. Consider the added weight. You don't say how big the room is.

Room comes in at 10' X 7'. Was able to 'look' inside the wall. It's one of the types that uses 'beercan' studs and stringers. So the only thing available to tie to is a u-shaped stringer that looks to be around 1/10 of an inch thickness.

can you send pictures?

A structural engineer can help. I was one of them, but never dealt with wood. Lots of my reference material isn't around anymore either.

A flat plate won't do much--it's too weak in that direction. Probably means you will need some sort of beams to carry the load to the walls of the room--but they don't sound very strong either. How about beams to carry the load beyond the room walls to separate columns to support the tank and structure load?

I would worry about hanging it from the wall; you would be putting a moment into those columns, and they probably weren't designed for it.

We need the weight and diameter of the tank assembly. Perhaps with something other than a flat plate the load could be spread out to become less than 100 psf.

Does this tank generate any lateral loads? Probably not, but I gotta ask!

A good condition hardwood skid, about 4 feet by 4 feet with the top and bottom covered by a sheet of 1/2" chipboard and screwed down would be an excellent weight distrubutor for 1000 pounds. It will weigh less than 100 pounds and will spread the weight over about 16 square feet = 1600 pounds, well within the rating.

You can of course create a pad, like a skid, from a top and bottom sheet and 2 x 4 frame, but skids are so common that a trip to a trucking yard will probably find you one for free or for a low cost, and skids are rated for 4000 pounds.

Look for free space somewhere in unusal spaces on the same floor. Areas under stairways are sometimes overlooked as usable space. I once placed a sealwater tank with its two pumps under one in a new chemical building. The chemical vendor had insisted for over a week that his model showed no room was available, in 2 minutes we where done. Often it just takes another set of eyes

Hello Guest,

The lumber dimensions and the type of composition, (hem/fir/pine/southern yellow pine or engineered plywood ) of the joists supporting the ceiling of the "comp room" would be knowledge that anyone who will provide in site as to what total loads may be placed on it must have. Further one must also know what the spacing of these supporting members, as the load bearing capacity increases when the spacing between these joists are reduced. How thick is the plywood above, how is it attached to the ceiling joists, is there blocking between these joists, how much is the existing dead load and is the increased live load considered a short term or long term incident. You do not seem to know the capacity of the "tin can" stud wall framing, is it simply rated as a curtain wall, "drywall only" or are these load bearing studs and how tall are they and what is the spacing between them? The taller the load bearing studs the thicker the material that they are constructed from and the more lateral support members are needed. What about the top plate/cap, "the framing material that is on top of these studs," is it designed for load bearing or just a cap material that holds these studs in place until the drywall is installed? Which direction do these ceiling joists run, as the shorter dimension can support more weight, and is very important to understand is what kind of floor support is beneath your stud walls, as all above loads transition downward to the bottom level. Who owns the property, who will have the liability for possible damages. What is the weight of the material that will be placed in this added container. Less dense materials will weigh less. Consider that a "55 gallon drum" filled with regular concrete will weigh more than 1000 lbs.

I suggest that you consult an Engineer!

TMF