How to Build 880 Gallon Water Storage in a Small Space

How to Build 880 Gallon Water Storage in a Small Space

The first step is to come up with a design.  As you can see from the picture, I made wood pillar between each tank of water.  Using formulas online I found to figure out the strength I would need (see the following website: https://www.cecalc.com/WoodDesign/WoodTension.aspx) I was able to find out how much I would need to support my load.  A gallon of water weighs about 8 lbs and each of my blue barrels has 55 gallons (8 X 55 = 440 lbs per barrel).  My design holds 16 barrels (16 X 440 = 7040).  I decided to be safe, I would make sure my design could hold 10,000 lbs.

Once I had the basic design finished, I reinforced each pillar with an additional 2x4 and added woold panels to each side.  I then anchored the entire platform to the wall on two points--the wall is an outside wall made out of concrete. 

To make sure the barrels did not roll around, I cut barrel shapes into the supporting beam of the water barrels.

This picture below shoes the reinforced pillars.

This is the completed structure with 16 full barrels.

 This project cost me around 400 dollars and only a day to build.  It was a simple, fun project and does not take that much space.  

Make a Secret Door in you House for less than $300 Dollars

Make a Secret Door in you House for less than $300 Dollars

NORMAL LOOKING PANTRY THAT IS TUCKED UNDER STAIRWELL

 PUSH BACK ON SHELF TO REVEAL A SECRET ROOM

 TUCKED UNDER STAIRS YOU'VE GOT A FEW TOYS

BASIC DESIGN

The shelves should fit snug in the given area, but not so tight so they are not rubbing up against the wall when they are being opened and closed.  I left about a quarter of an inch on either side.  The rest of the design of the shelf unit is pretty standard.

To help guide the direction of the shelf unit, I used standard pulleys and a quarter inch metal rods (see the top of the picture).  They helped carry some of the weight and keep the shelving on track.

To hold the majority of the weight, I used piano dolley wheels (any heavy duty wheels will work).  I also made a metal track out of some scrap metal to keep the wheels on track.  I then had to balance the weight between the pulleys and the wheels.  It took a little time, but one I finished, I figured my weight distribution was about 80% on the wheels and 20% on the pulleys.    

 THIS IS THE QUARTER INCH IRON RODS AND PULLEYS

The whole project was not as difficult as I thought it was going to be.  Once I had the pulley/iron rod system figured out, it was not that difficult at all.  The whole project cost me just under $300 dollars.  This is only phase one of this project.  I also plan on putting up  molding around the edges of the shelf to make it appear seamless.  That should not be too difficult, but I have saved that for another day.