4300 Gallon Plywood Build (3600+ Take 2)
- Thread starter nolapete
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Worked on the floor frame and did some maintenance on the 8 tanks in the garage. Whooped. I was able to use all of the scrap boards 5.5" and longer on the floor frame. I don't think there's any left, but I'll have to check when it's daylight to be sure. Going to try to finish up everything I need to get done before the plywood sheathing. Need my friends' tools and expertise to cut the plywood right the first time. I also want to get some more eyes on everything before I put the sheathing up.
When designing this, did you consider cinder block construction? If so, what made you choose lumber? It seems like the block would've saved some man-hours. Just curious.
Open Water Predator;3650928; said:
If you look at JohnPTC's build, you'll see why I didn't. Cinder block construction requires that you drill and sink rebar into the slab and fill the blocks with concrete. Not exactly easy demolition if I want to ever sell my house. Most builds under 10K, other than JohnPTC's, use lumber.
nolapete;3650939; said:
Permanence factor. Gotcha. Yeah, John's build prompted the question. I'm currently building a measly 2,500 gallon pond. Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see it finished.
WOW ... Ive firstly got to say 41pages and it still is not finshed !,
Also great build , this is very helpful to me , im starting my tank buil in the next week and when my wood arrives !
Keep up the good work.
Dave.
Also great build , this is very helpful to me , im starting my tank buil in the next week and when my wood arrives !
Keep up the good work.
Dave.
The stig;3651121; said:
I dont' mean any offence by saying this... but why has everyone got to point this out on long threads? It's so long because there's a lot of buzz associated with a tank this large. If anything the length of the thread is a kudos to Pete for doing something interesting. If you want to avoid the disappointment of reading 40-50 pages for "nothing" as some put it, maybe look at the last page before you go through it all?
Open Water Predator;3650928; said:
Thought I'd chime in here since I have built and demolished both.
I found concrete block to be much more time consuming that regular 2x4 or 2x6 and plywood builds. Even when I had the budget for a professional block layer to come in I often found it took longer to get structures built vs. framing it myself. When I did the block work myself, forget about it... I was way slower. Never did get the hang of it.
15 years ago cinder block construction was cheaper than 2x6 + 3/4" AC plywood. Cheaper for just the basic shell and that includes filling every other column of block. That price comparison does not include sealing -- cinder block is more expensive to seal due to the textured surface. My best guess is that plywood builds ended up being cheaper overall back then due to the smoother surface of the plywood.
As far as prices today, I believe concrete prices have gone up more than lumber prices.
I'm surprised to hear Pete mention demo being more difficult with cinder block. It was messier but very quick and easy with filled block and a good sledge hammer. Easier to move the crumbled remains in a wheelbarrow than cut up sections of a plywood tank.
But to be clear, neither process was much fun and I'd hate to tear down a block tank inside of a house.
Cutting the rebar flush with the floor was a bit of a pain, however.
Now, with all that said, if I ever get around to building a monster tank out in my garage it will be with 2x6 lumber and 3/4" plywood.
Hope this helps.
Those are the other reason CJH. I know what skills I have and putting up cinder block walls and working with concrete to be assured that I wouldn't flood my house isn't one of them. Although, I think with the liquid rubber or blue max coating cinder block would take much less than Pond Armor.
nolapete;3653727; said:
I'm fairly certain I could build a block tank that would hold water but I would not want to go through that again. Also, a lumber built tank would be easier to tie into an existing wall like you did with your build and I would like to do in my garage.
How did you attach the bottom row of lumber to your floor?
Pretty sure we used expansion bolts every 12" or so and then tied the floor "joists" into the verticals so the pressure at the bottom of the tank was distributed to the joists instead of the bolts.
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