[convict1221]

Hey guys, my wife and I just bought our first house and I have the perfect spot for my 55 in the wall in the finished basement. the back of the tank would be in the walk in utility closest. Having never done something like this before, how should I go about it?? About how much will it cost?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Cunados]

Once your project is complete it will be well worth it. All my favorite tanks over the years have ways been in the wall.

1) determine if the wall you want to mount the tank in is "load bearing". A load bearing wall supports a floor, ceiling and/or roof above it. Generally speaking, if the wall runs perpindicular to the floor or ceiling joists it's load bearing. If the wall runs parallel to what's above chances are it's not load bearing.

2) if the wall is not load bearing life is alot easier.

3) if the wall is load bearing the load from the removed studs must be spread to jack/king studs. I'd recommend hiring a professional unless you are a serious DIYer.

4) be aware of wiring hidden in the wall prior to making any cuts into the wall.

How much $s? Depends, DIY for a couple of hundred, hire a pro 2-3 times that.
I design and build houses so if you have any Qs PM me and I'll do my best to assist.

An in-wall tank is sharp. Good luck.

 

[PfunMo]

That advise sounds right to me. I might expect to do it cheaper if DIY but that will depend on trimming and such. If you have not looked at doing headers and such, it will be a good idea to get somebody to come by and look at the plan. Nothing real hard or technical but if you are cutting into a load bearing wall it does need to be done right. Think also of how much support you will want for the tank bottom. A stud wall will normally be like four inches thick and that is not enough for setting a tank on to make me feel right. Not hard to build in more depth but it does need to be part of the plan. Good luck comes from good planning, right? Are you sure your wife is willing to give up part of that closet space?

 

[convict1221]

yea actually she was all for it. the only thing in there is the water heater and heat. there's plenty of room for the tank and more. I was planning on building a shelf to support the tank out of sturdy plywood, super duty brackets and 2 x 4s to support all the weight. my concern was weather or not the wall is load bearing. heres a map of the room. the red walls are the foundation walls, the blue wall is where the tank would be going. Above the blue wall is the living room which goes all the way to the right foundation wall.

 

[PfunMo]

Is the utility room narrow like it appears? Odds are good that it is not load bearing. Is the ceiling open above the furnace and water heater so you can see the floor joists above? If the beams (floor joists) above the utility room run the same direction as the blue wall, it is pretty sure not to be load bearing. If they cross the blue wall, it may be suporting some weight from above. Any chance the utility wall is only covered on one side so you can see the studs? The pole by the stairs seems to be in a bit odd place maybe, if as drawn. I would more expect it to be used to hold a large beam at about the center of the house. Is there a large box above this pole? That would likely be the main beam to support the floor joists above.

Small drawing to help explain load bearing walls:

The difference is that one can put weight on the walls marked in green and expect them to hold far more weight than the ones marked in red. If you cut a big opening in a load bearing wall, you will reduce the load that wall can support. You need to build back that support. If it is not supporting weight from above, not as much needs to be done. Above windows and doors in the outside walls is one place where this is done. It requires building a beam called a header to span the gap. It is usually covered in the wall and you don't see it once the finish is put on.