How to build an underground foundation for a water tank - DIY
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- čas přidán 6. 04. 2019
- Before setting up a water tank, you need a strong foundation. This video will walk you through the process of setting up a foundation that will last.
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Wow what a project! My back hurt just looking at the video. That ground was so hard I am sure from a support perspective you did not need a foundation. I have put in a number of the same size tanks and for flat sites with adequate bearing strength you just need to get rid of the loose material, bring in some class 2 base rock about 4 -6 inches thick, compact in layers every 2 inches leveling each course, extend the footprint 1 foot beyond the edge of the tank, rake off any loose material when you are done and roll the tank to the edge of the pad and upright it. Done. Little or no digging required, no bricks and no drains and more time for the lazy boy and the beer. Cheers!
Congrats Sir! I'm doing a very similar project with a cement foundation and a 2000gl tank. That one will help fill up two more 600gls tanks for potable water. I learned quick last year that a category 5 hurricane can and will send you back to the stone age without power or water for months. For some people prepping is not a choice but a necessity depending on where you live.
That really WAS an undertaking, Kris. So incredibly proud of your work - you never let up. I'm not sure I could have seen that all the way through like it was. ALOT of patience.
Now I have a better visual of what you're doing.
Great tutorial!
If you ever do this again, pop the tank on it's side, roll it parallel to where you want it, then use the 2x4 to lift it upright so it falls into place rather than sliding it on it's base, should be easier.
bonus points if you have a ladder laying around as that makes it way easier to get upright again, just roll it on, the ladder catches it, then raise the ladder, done :)
Wow, great tip. Thanks!
i would add a canopy over top that was concaved to act not only as a rain catchment but also give it some como and sun protection
Mike Albert : agree, Mike . I seen that system in Austraila .
Great idea.
I've learned that for leveling, rather than going back and forth digging a bit here and there, it's better to throw sand in the trench and laying the blocks on top.
Good idea.
For those types of tanks the company recommends a concrete slab...for my tanks i went with a steel reinforced concrete slab...and for huracane season i added steel reinforced concrete and block walls creating what looks like a cistern bunker lol...to move the tank 2 people are needed using a wide strap sling under the tank then you slightly pic up the tank from each side to remove the sling...a concrete slab doesn't need a drain and is 100% a better quality product with a lot less work.
You are a stud !
I wouldn't be smiling as much as you after all that work. I be on the sofa passed out.
I wanted to stop many times :)
You need to add an overflow for the tank with a pipe to take excess water well away or the overflow can make the tank unstable by damaging the foundation.
You should have threw on a mustache and a plumbers hat and did this video like Super Mario that would have been cooler
My boys tell me I look like Mario when wearing my overalls :)
Canadian Prepper Hey 👋 CP! Love it when you cross-pollinate other quality channels. I’m a USA 🇺🇸 Indiana girl who loves gear and prepping. Prep on. 😎
This is one of the best semi-pro videos I've ever seen on youtube. Colors+presentation is good, it's informative, everything is spot-on. It pops.
This is a perfect video for youtube. You did a great job on it. Really.
Yo CP, Congrats on a on finishing a huge project,this is the kind of video that makes us all believe we can do it too,
Will you be adding more tanks for storing drinking water?
Great job sir 👍.
This video helped me save my water tanks. Thanks a million. Gotta ❤️ CZcams.
Fair play to you for putting this together by yourself. Its a smart thing to have plenty of water with very little effort, well done.
Good job, and you put in a lot of great work effort⛏️✔️
Man have I been there before... Digging rocks is no fun. Great workout, but no fun. Great job and you really set the standard when it comes to prep videos. Keep up the great work!
Thanks!
So I’m 2:58 into the video and I’ve already caught your major mistake. When you first swung the pick ax and heard that “tink” sound of you hitting a rock, the correct response would have been “Xxxx this, I’m pouring slab on grade”.
Ha I thought that a lot during the process but wouldn't stop.
Just came across this, hopefully the tank is still in place and the foundation still works? For this size of a tank I would expect a cement foundation, but happy to see there are alternatives
Looks good kid, I would add a fine wire mesh to the drain too. My question is did you have a middle access cleaning port for the pipe? Thanks for the CP.
Looks like you could have used a friend for that project
Who needs a gym membership. This is legit cross-fit. :D Come work on the homestead, get in shape! Great project. Cheers, Chris.
that's exactly what i thought while doing this project :)
Excellent! That I need to find out more about! Thanks! 👏👍
Lol. In hindsight, ...it looks like you had a pretty "strong foundation" to start with. What a person has to go through, ...just to get a smooth, level, and forgiving region of contact, ...given the weight disbursement of that tank's floor surface area. Lol. That was a lot of good work. Watching you deal with that densely compacted surface, ...I laughed and said, "Next time just go in with a commercial floor sander." LOL.
Dude, that project was nuts. Getting a Jack hammer next time.
Nice project as time consuming...Good job....Good stuff....
Nice work! If it makes you feel better, I often do things the hard way as well just to see what I can accomplish without powered machines. I notice you have some rocky hills behind the tank. Have you considered a horizontal well/spring head to fill the tank with?
a boat load of work.. looks good. now all you need to do is get it under a tarp so it does not turn into a water heater to bake your garden
Huge respect to you. I miss understood your Chanel I thought you just lived in a city standard house no yard or freedoms. You should do more videos like this for your rural viewers. I have some property and do the homestead thing. Would love to see other and how they set things up. 👍🏻🇺🇸
Mistakes like that are the foundation of wisdom.
Nice well edited video.
Your dedication is amazing. Rain or shine you stepped up to the task. Great job. I’m just curious as to how you will replenish the water over time. Are you going to continue to use the pump to bring the water up there? Or perhaps a rain catcher project is in the near future? Don’t know the laws in California for collecting rain water.
Thanks for the video. Trying to figure out how big to go with our tank.
Very cool brother I can't wait to have land for something like that.
It's a blessing and a curse. Never seems like I have enough time in the day to get to everything that needs to be done.
Good stuff. Might want to get some help next time you do a big project like that!!
Srsly
YO CP, Congrats on finishing a huge project , this is the kind of video that makes us all believe we can do it too, will you be adding more tanks for storing drinking water?
> YO CP, Congrats on finishing a huge project
Thanks! It was a hard one for sure :)
> this is the kind of video that makes us all believe we can do it too,
That was my hope. I'm learning and doing and I hope the community can as well.
> will you be adding more tanks for storing drinking water?
Yup. I'll be moving in phases on this project. This tank was phase 1 ... will be mapping out phase 2 shortly.
@@CityPrepping , We (me) are , if you can use power tools do it :), hope you recover ASAP, and your hard work will pay off.
that's what i've come to quickly realize...i need more power tools :)
@@CityPrepping , haha,if you need to buy and have time to buy , call me and I'll see what we can do for you on pricing
Great video, watching from Costa Rica where they do it much sketchier.
Are you going to fill that from your house like in the video or add some sort of rain catchment? Also how do you plan on watering the garden ?
Very Nice.
Good idea
Did you consider capturing that drain off water?
PVC pipes under tank is a great way to move. I use this technique to move 800# hot tubs. Let's roll!
Where do you get the water to fill your tank? I am having a problem getting my well drilled at my new home and thinking about a tank setup for backup and usage until the well company gets their act together.
Why are you doing this? Location looks like a high wildfire area. Good video. Educational.
Using the water tank for my gardens I'm putting in.
Good video. Why did you choose a floor drain and pipe vs just a perforated pipe?
Wow, This A Great Idea. Please Tell Me Where You Bought The Water Tank And How Many Gallons Of Water Does It Hold?? Very Good Video.😄
Bought it at tractor supply for $1100. 2500 gallon tank.
@@CityPrepping what are the height and diameter?? inches?
There is no such thing as a cinder block cinder blocks any more were made in the 1900's using steel smelting cinders this is not done any more, because we don't smelt that much steel plus the cinders were some what toxic. Your cinder blocks are now called Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) they come in very specific sizes, and shapes this means blocks from Seattle Wa. are the same size as Blocks from Ocala Fl. the only draw back is the blocks from Seattle Wa. maybe a different color then Blocks from Ocala Fl.
Great information, thanks! I have a 500 gallon tank that I plan to use to store rain water, and I've been wondering how to go about building a foundation.
Same principles apply as shown here. When I had a smaller water tank, I used a similar setup as this.
@@CityPrepping Thanks!
How much was the water tank alone? I bet it was at least $2000.
$1100
@@CityPrepping Jesus
I wanna know how it holds up over time . Please consider that good omen and Thanks .
The foundation looks good but is it necessary? The water is heavy but also pushes against the inside of the tank equally. So as long as it's on a flat surface I'd think it would be ok...
I have the same type of dirt / rock , buying the jack hammer is a decent investment
What type of water pump do you use to pump water up your hill?
Plans for rain catchment? Seen a few decent vids from guys in southern Arizona who get most of their water from rain.
Yup...will be doing that as well.
I see erosion from the hill through the tank location and down the hill below the tank. Not sure it's a good location.
I agree, now that it is raining in Southern California you nee to see what the run off looks like off of that hill next to your garden area. You may need a shielding wall to deflect an major run off from the hill that would wash out your garden boxes.
Arthur Quintana I think he should capture the run off
I wanna build a shed house and get a water tank . Does anyone know how I would fill the tank . Can water trucks sell you the water if you have no water on the property?
There are a few of on here following you. We use your knowledge. Let us share with you.
For those of us with next door neighbors, has anyone tried this using a below grade foundation to drop the tank a few feet and reduce its visibility? The water table here is over 100 feet deep and I’d add tie downs anyway due to seismic concerns.
I went ahead and left a comment.
How are you going to fill that come the apocalypse? Will you rig a tarp to catch rain, or pump it from a lower well using solar/Inergy?
For now pulling from city water. Long term plans is rain harvest and/or a well.
any problems with this base ?
Should of used your quad with its horse power instead of your back to move the cistern.
Just curious why you didn’t put a circular slab of concrete underneath instead of the square gravel?
I just don't know concrete and figured pea gravel would be easier. Turns out ot so much. But this foundation will last ;)
Why not use iron enforcded concrete as foundation?
Those matix/picks get kinda heavy don't they? I'm into pain and suffering too.
Yes they do. Still feeling the pain weeks later.
Only 8 views I'm going to change that
How many gallons was that tank.
it's been awhile. i can't recall if it was 1000 or 2000 gallons.
👍👌
so now you know how the Amish people feel welcome aboard
Might have being easier to pour a slab .
hey if u need a jack hammer to break up rocks i'm sure u only needed to level the area u wanted the tank at, just saying...... i don't believe all that hard work was necessary
The foundation minimizes randomness in the ground
You are not a construction person are you?
Ha nope. I'm sure it's obvious ;)
Should be how I made a foundation not how to!