I have seen this before where there is either a pipe or board on top of the oil tank holding it down? Is there a reason for this to be there? I do see it on a somewhat regular basis and have never actually done any research to figure out the real reason for it. I was inspecting this home for my cousin today so i am looking into it today. It has a lot of pressure on it and I think it has even cracked the tile floor above this area!
This is in a basement in a NH and the home was built in the late 90’s
Thanks for looking!
You figured it out. The tile on the floor above it is cracking because of the joist movement and so the brace is an attempt to stop it.
Sometimes you see something like this under a china closet where the glasses and plates rattle when someone walks through the dining room. The way to beef up the joists is to gusset them with plywood. Plywood on edge doesn’t really deflect.
I don’t know of any requirement for indoor tanks. Some towns require tie-downs on exterior tanks.
This happened to my neighbor around the corner. They went on vacation and returned home to a broken pipe and flooded basement. The oil tank was floating sideways on the top of the water. The disaster wasn’t just the basement. The oil smell permeated everything in the house, all the furniture, carpeting, etc. I heard the insurance claim was over $50k, and this was like 20 years ago.
No, but Kevin asked if there was a requirement. IRC only requires indoor tanks to be anchored in “flood-prone” areas. Local jurisdictions can have their own requirements. It’s my experience that nobody in our area does it, not in 50 year old houses, not in new houses. I always recommend they be secured since anyone’s basement can flood.
Thanks Brian I have seen my share of them but not very common for them to actually be secured down as I typically see them more in older homes when someone must have thought about doing it. I have yet to see it in a newer home.
