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building a long table for tanks

1662 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  TheeMon
ok im getting a house with a big basement, i want to put a shelf/table/stand all along one wall. i plan on useing 2x4s and plywood. it will be prolly 32" wide, i wanna put 20longs so the small end is faceing out. and the floor is unlevel...

basicly i dont know how after that.
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How long do you want the table, do you want to be able to stack tanks like people do with those HD shelving units and how uneven is your floor?

With that info I can give you some pointers that may help.
i want it as long as the room.

i WOULD like a 2x high stand, but my basement floods sometimes so for now i want it waste high with only 1 level.

the floor is uneven by a few inches
Make the legs to fit the distance from the shelf to the floor. As long as the shelf is level it doesn't matter whether the floor is level. Use temporary legs to level it and add permanent ones cut to the right length.
Since the basement floods sometimes, I'd use cinder block legs. Leave a 49" space between each leg so that later something may fit in that space. Because the floor is not level, I'd bed each cinder block in mortar, bringing them closer to level with each course of block by adjusting the thickness of the mortar joint beteen each sucessive block. If a permanent bond to the floor is not wanted, either rub the floor where the mortar bed will be with a paraffin block or set a square of wax paper there. For the shelf I would use 2 by 6's, 1/2" plywood cut into 5" strips by 8', and 2 by 4's. Stagger the board ends so they don't match, or where they must, meet centered over a block leg. Attach the plywood strips to the 2 by 6's so that there is a half inch gap at the top edge. Attach the 2 by 4's to the plywood strips flush with the top of the strip. Drop in plywood panels for a shelf surface into the recess between the rails you've created. Block the plywood joints from underneath with 2 by 4 pieces. Paint everything that is wood, all surfaces.
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mcdaphnia simpler! i lost you half way threw man. and btw i think u think i want 2 lvls, 1 lvl is fine with me, a nice long stand so i can sit a few dozen 20longs etc on there...
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