Proper reinforcement for a second floor float tank – DSP 13

In this short, salty, and to the point episode, Graham and Ashkahn talk about installing float tanks on the second floor and how to work with contractors and engineers to determine if you need to reinforce your building to support the weight.

While you usually don’t need reinforcement, it’s always good to check. Listen in above or check out the transcript below and, as always, be sure to send us your questions. All questions welcome, from basic industry questions to well crafted stumpers. If Graham and Ashkahn don’t know the answer, they still relish the journey of discovery and educated guessing.

FTS Blog: Finding Your Float Center’s Home — Location Checklist

Listen to Just the Audio

Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)

Ashkahn: We’ve got a question today about being on the second floor of a building with your float center. So, if you’re thinking about putting a float center on the second floor, do you need to do any structural reinforcement to hold the weight of the float tank?

Graham: Let me just say definitively that, it totally depends.

Ashkahn: Yeah, that I think is a very concrete answer.

Graham: Of course, it’s going to depend on the building, how new your construction is, whether you’re in a big multi-story concrete kind of building or whether you’re in an old wooden Victorian house. There’s a lot that goes into it, but shockingly, the overall answer in almost all of those cases tends to be no. You don’t really need to do any extra reinforcement.

Ashkahn: Yeah, most times people bring in a structural engineer to take a look at things and examine it. Often landlords will even require you to do that.  

Graham: Which you totally should do, don’t just listen to us and be like, “Oh it’s totally fine,” and go forward with it — a structural engineer is a great thing to bring in.

Ashkahn: It usually ends up being that while the float tank is heavy and all the salt water is heavy and all that, it’s just got such a big footprint. The float tanks are so big that the actual amount of pounds per square foot that’s really being put on, is not really as much as one might think. So it tends to be that a lot of buildings can hold it, even the way they are. Especially newer construction, like newer condo type buildings with strong reinforced concrete and stuff like that, tend to not really be much of a concern.

Graham: Again, surprisingly even for older buildings. Often times those are also good to go. Another good reason to consult an expert before spending a lot of money on reinforcements you might not necessarily need.

Ashkahn: Yeah, it’s always weird and there’s always weird stuff out there. I mean, even The Float Shoppe across the river from us, they’re in an old Victorian house and they brought a structural engineer in to check things out before they started and they found they could put float tanks on the second floor but their first floor was not actually strong enough to put float tanks on. Which is really crazy.

Graham: Yeah, so again, consult the experts and if it doesn’t work out, then you always can reinforce anyway.

Ashkahn: Boom.

Graham: Shakalaka.

Latest Blog Posts