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Shaped charges? I thought you were a retired obnoxious dentist. Or is that why you are a retired dentist – getting creative with those wisdom extractions? 🙂
Lisa
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Talk about a bang-up job...
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Hook a big frigging chain to it with slack and use Gabe's truck to pull that puppy out!!!
If his axle's left on the end of the chain instead, slap me and get the keg tapped quick!
Near the stream and love my hooking my chain to "chain pullers" reign...
J
*Per,Interior load bearing wall. Tank sits part-way into the blocks. Must be floor bearing on both sides of the wall, right?Nobody wants an old water tank to be a structural entity in their house. Do they?I wouldn't. Build temporary walls on either side of the block wall to support the load above. (heh, heh, I said "Load"...) If there's more floors upstairs sitting on this wall too, build temp walls above the ones in the basement...Chip the tank out. Lot's of people have blown up by torching an unfamilliar tank. Maybe you could drill a big hole in it and smell the hole (heh, heh) to determine if it'll be hazardous. Cutting most of it away to chip it out may be the easiest method, but please, err on the cautious side, my Grandfather blew up once. It seems to me that partial blocks wouldn't be that strong, so as long as the floor above is supported, I'd chip out the partial blocks and replace them.Remove the temp walls after the mortar has set up (ask Bill Curry about that) probably a couple of weeks would be safe. Maybe a month, I don't know.Now, about that cold one...After installing built-in book cases today in a nice pocket of a rather sleazy neighborhood, I realized that I didn't want to stop at a store to buy beer because I had my SkilSaw stolen OFF THE JOB SITE in this neighborhood a year ago. What's a thirsty feller to do?I drove past package stores and my thoughts turned to fine Kentucky Bourban... "No, mustn't risk the new Paslode Impulse Framer in my tool box"... "Must drive like a maniac to get home...". Check.I have the most wonderful LadyFriend in the world... A bottle of Bushmills, a bottle of Irish Creame and a fresh pot of Java as I walked in the door. No spankings for her tonite!Dan
*HiJackDo you think you could try to be a little bit more mature and offer an intelligent answer to the poster.Gabe
*Gabe,I used as many of the suckers as I gots...Slap me Gabe, I like it!Near the stream, have chains will travel,J
*Not to worry Gabe...we're all used to AJ by now. Hey Jack, better get a stronger truck (or a weaker chain)!
*Aw... Dan, and after she's been so nice to you... whoops, wrong web site for that. You're correct on your "don't torch the tank" advise. Cut clean, dry tanks only. With vent holes. Steam from cutting can cause the tank to rupture, fragmentation style. Fuels, like the aforementioned K-1 kerosene will detonate at cutting torch temperatures if the correct fuel/air mix is present.Like when the tank is 3/4 cut... or an inspection/vent port is cut into it by torch or grinding wheel.
*In response:1.) Yes, "floor bearing" on both sides.2.) No, I don't want my house held up by water tanks.3.) I'm troubled by your fixation with "heh heh" and "load".4.)No need to drill a hole; corrosion has opened up a "peek" in the middle of the tank....nothing stinky (like K-1) that I can detect.5.)Did your grandfather recover from the ordeal?6.)Popping out those cinderblocks is all well & good, except I just installed built-in shelving on the other side of the wall. I suppose I could do most of the work from the "tank-side".7.)Not planning on moving any time soon, but Gabe (?) makes a good point about trying to explain a rusty steel ring filled with concrete in the middle of a basement wall to a prospective buyer. I think I would be scratching my head a bit and pinching my wallet a bit tighter.8.)Have the day off & playing Mr. Mom all weekend while the prego wife is in the windy city. Junior Swedes asleep, and a cold one popped. PS. Shaped charges might work, but I'd have to blow the tank through the garage wall, and make sure the garage door was open. Probably scare the deer & racoons away for a while, though.
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Per, as an ingenious Swede, I would have thought you would have this one licked allready! Take of the end and leave the bulk where it is, line with cedar planks, install mahogany shelves and and a gorgeous FWW door on the front. One high grade-custom built- add 5g to the price of the house wine cellar!!! Or if any of the kids are approaching their teen years, line with padding, install bars on front, and use as a discipline threat...
Think outside the box...
Lisa
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So Dan. . .
Does the
i Lady
friend
i bathe
in the Irish Cream whilst you swill the Bushmills??? Surely you don't mix the two?? Try Jamesons Irish Whiskey. . . it's more better, you can keep the creame for yer coffee!!!
-pm
*Lafe is grand isn't it!!!...Imagine if the basis of all that is was similar to a chain in that all was only as strong as it's weakest link...And then if that link failed all would end!!! Obviously life is somewhat more better based, it be....Yah...Near the stream and thinkin about fractals again,J
*Jacksit down slowly buddy I gotta some bad stuff to break to ya. . . Iti wasonly as strong as it's weakest link and it broke a long time agoi This is the end. . . the killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on and he walked on down the hall. . . and he came to a door. . . and he looked inside. . . i . . . the horror, the horror
*Lisa: You are a lady after my own heart! I thought when I married they had broken the mold. You have proven me wrong and I love it.
*Actually all three in a cup works great. Whisky, Irish Creame and Coffee that is... Works best on a rainy day.Jamesons, indeed. Next time.
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C-4
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See Spot run, run Spot run!!
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If someone is out there this evening, take pity, and pop a cold one for me....I'm still at work. As long as I have your attention, what is the best way to remove a large (3' diameter) old water tank 1/2-way embedded in a cinder block (internal) load-bearing wall without weakening the wall?
*Per SwedeHard to think of an embedded 3 foot water tank as being beneficial to the structural integrity of the block wall to start with.This sucker must have been in place before the wall or something.How many courses of blocks are about the tank?If there are none or too few, you may have to block or bridge the structure before removing the tank and doing your repairs.Let us know a little more about your problem.Gabe
*Leave it ther and put the new tank next to it?Pete Draganic
*Cut an access hole in it, and put the 5 gallon fermenter bucket/carboy in the old tank. Cold ones to follow in two or more weeks.
*Could you use a torch to cut off the part of the tank that sticks out of the wall ?
*The tank is about 5' long and 3' in diameter. It's the old water tank, which has long been disconnected (by the previous owner). I want to pull it out because it takes up way too much space in the boiler room. One of the "rounded" ends sticks into the concrete block wall, but does not extend through the wall to the other side (the garage). I'd say there are about 5 or 6 courses of blocks "around" it. The obvious solution would be to cut it out with a torch flush with the wall, but I'm just concerned that the part of the tank left embedded in the wall would not be structurally stiff enough to support the wall properly. I think that with the rest of the tank cut off, the remaining "end" would be less rigid, and the wall could slowly crush it, causing the wall itself to deform. Anyone think this is a valid concern, or am I just being overly cautious/pessimistic?
*I wouldnt be too concerned if it doesnt g all the way through the wall. I would cut it off with a torch and then fill in with wood supports or cement if you are worried about the wall caveing it in.
*Swede don't torch the tank. No one knows what might have been in that puppy. Once as a rookie I torched a old hot water tank that the owner had used for storing K-1. The torch set that think off like firecracker. Sounds like you could chip that thing out of there and redo the wall with grout. Email me if you some more info on grouting that wall
*Per Swede,If your have 5 courses all around the sides and top, you should be able to chip is out as Bill indicated, however, just by the fact that you are a contractor and have some apprehensions means that you should go with your feelings and get someone else to confirn "on site" your plan of attack. Don't underestimate the hair on the back of your neck. It has saved more than one contractor.Gabe
*Actually, I'm not a contractor, but I'll take that as a compliment (I think). I'm not worried about a "catastrophic" failure. Rather, it seems like the wall might sag & settle gradually over the weakened section (once the tank is removed). I was thinking along the lines of wood blocking and cement to fill in the "interior" of whatever part of the tank is left stuck in the cinderblocks. By the way, Bill, what is K-1? Something combustible, I assume, based upon the description of your lively encounter with an old tank.
*I suppose shaped charges are out of the question?Dennis
*i believe k1 would be kerosene
*Shaped charges? I thought you were a retired obnoxious dentist. Or is that why you are a retired dentist - getting creative with those wisdom extractions? :-)Lisa
*Hi there,A job worth doing is worth doing well.You should consider chipping out the old tank, and replacing the masonry blocks and mortar. That way, it will look and be proffessional. Later on if anyone wants to sell the property, excuses will not have to be made about the workmanship around this tank.Gabe
*Speed is of the essence - and people get a charge out of it.Dennis
*Other than that, still working on my people skills - practice here on Breaktime.Dennis
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Thanks Fred. My mother laughs hysterically whenever I complain about whatever inventive terror my daughter is up to, so I guess what goes around comes around. I pity her future boyfriends...