These are my plans for the rack to hold 15’s and 20’s. It could easily be modified for any 12” deep tank. I decided I didn’t want any part of the tank to be behind a support. I thought about notching out the 2X4’s and running the cross bars through them, but decided this would be easier and plenty strong. If it was holding more weight, I probably would have gone that route.
I plan to put foam under the tanks to prevent stress points. No matter how level it is, there will still be stress points from imperfections in the wood or craftsmanship. This is a strong and very inexpensive design. I chose 8’ studs because of price and there only a few inches of waste on each board after cutting to dimensions. If I had the time I’m certain I could have built this out of wood collected from building sites. I know several builders that have a huge amount of waste. I just don’t have the time to sort through it and collect boards. It’s also rather cold here at the moment and I don’t want to brave the subzero wind chills after spending all day in them already.
I plan to use 2 screws at each joint. I also am going to put the 1/2" bolts where the legs meet the crossbars that the tanks sit on.
I gave myself 10" above each tank which should be plenty. I also left the legs extra tall for now so I might be able to add a shelf on top or anchor it to the floor joists of an unfinished basement. I might cut them down later. Im moving shortly, so I will not be setting it up at my current house, but I wanted to take advantage of the shop while I still could.
Material list:
1 box 2 3/4” screws
(18) ½”x4” Bolts
(12) 2x4 8’ studs
Cost:
Screws- $3.79
Bolts- $1.09 for 2 (9 packages)
2x4-$1.89 each (12 boards)
Total cost: $36.28
I plan to put foam under the tanks to prevent stress points. No matter how level it is, there will still be stress points from imperfections in the wood or craftsmanship. This is a strong and very inexpensive design. I chose 8’ studs because of price and there only a few inches of waste on each board after cutting to dimensions. If I had the time I’m certain I could have built this out of wood collected from building sites. I know several builders that have a huge amount of waste. I just don’t have the time to sort through it and collect boards. It’s also rather cold here at the moment and I don’t want to brave the subzero wind chills after spending all day in them already.
I plan to use 2 screws at each joint. I also am going to put the 1/2" bolts where the legs meet the crossbars that the tanks sit on.
I gave myself 10" above each tank which should be plenty. I also left the legs extra tall for now so I might be able to add a shelf on top or anchor it to the floor joists of an unfinished basement. I might cut them down later. Im moving shortly, so I will not be setting it up at my current house, but I wanted to take advantage of the shop while I still could.
Material list:
1 box 2 3/4” screws
(18) ½”x4” Bolts
(12) 2x4 8’ studs
Cost:
Screws- $3.79
Bolts- $1.09 for 2 (9 packages)
2x4-$1.89 each (12 boards)
Total cost: $36.28
