[Greenbuilding] cistern questions

[John Salmen]

I had my engineer review and certify the usage - he liked the idea so much
he used one on his property for an outbuilding. I also had a tank modified
for a public composting toilet that had solid precast concrete sidewall
panels and a timber roof -lot of weight.

 

From: greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org
[mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Clarke
Olsen
Sent: August-02-12 9:05 AM
To: Green Building
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] cistern questions

 

I am using a 1000 gal. "low boy" septic tank as a solar reservoir. I coated
the inside with a waterproofing compound, 

too soon to report on. I doubt that a tank would be a reliable foundation:
looking at one, we would all feel it could, 

but those 4" walls were not designed to support much. If you came up with a
way to distribute the load perfectly...

 

Clarke Olsen
clarkeolsendesign.com
373 route 203
Spencertown, NY 12165 
USA
518-392-4640
colsen at taconic.net




 

On Aug 2, 2012, at 10:48 AM, Sacie Lambertson wrote:





All, we have been thinking for a long time now about adding a 3-seasons room
to our house.  Given the extreme drought we currently experiencing, I've had
some not-so-idle thoughts about putting a cistern under it when we do.  I
have several question about this possibility and wonder if
structural-knowledgeable people on this list could respond please.

1.  Cisterns in this area are built by the same people who do septic tanks,
ie of concrete.  Could I use such a tank to support a room above?

2.  Our house is on a gentle slope; the end of this addition will be about
3-4 feet above grade.  If we put the overflow drain lower than the top, do I
need to worry about insulating the walls of a cistern? ie there would be
room for expansion.  Freezing is normal in our NE Kansas winters.

Our current in-ground cistern, 1800 gallons, filled up after only a 1.5 inch
rain.  Our many shed roofs drain to it.  We would divert one these to the
new cistern, plus that of the room above.   A new cistern would not have as
large a drain plane as the existing one, but a couple good rains would
undoubtedly fill up too.

Thanks,  Sacie
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