New Cold Water Loft Tank

I was kindly given a brand new shower by a friend. However on inspection I will need to upgrade the loft tank to a larger size (50gallon) to avoid problems with cold water supply.

Currently I have an old asbestos tank (25gallon) which I will leave in the loft until I can get it out safely and just extend the current connections to the new tank.

I want to raise the height of the tank to maximise hot water pressure into the mixer shower and therefore need to build a set of stilts for the tank to sit on bearing in mind that its going to be minimum 240kg when full.

I need some help to design the stilt construction so that the load is spread across the building. Any ideas?

Brian

do you have a traditional cut roof or roof trusses?

if it is trusses then you can secure the main bearing timbers close to the 'node points' within the truss structure. these node points occur at the timber connections where the gang nails are visible.

if you have a trad' roof then use internal wall partitions as a guide as to the most sensible loading point. meaty timbers could be spanned between walls and used as the foundation for the stilt structure.

what size are the ceiling joists?

Its a traditional roof. Theres only one internal wall that runs longest length of the house.

Not sure what size the joists are but they're not big- 60's council house.

Am now considering situating the new tank in place of the old one and installing a shower pump as it'll probably cost the same and get better results. Will the new tank cause a problem if situated on the 'floor' of the loft space?

Ta for the reply

Brian

BlessedlyBrian said:

Will the new tank cause a problem if situated on the 'floor' of the loft space?

Ta for the reply

Brian

Click to expand...

provided you spread the weight - no.

common sense says locate the weight either near to a wall or close to any structural support elements that may be handy.

earlier roofs were only engineered for very moderate loads but should tolerate a 250kg tank without protesting too much.