Another Annoying Load Bearing Question

[Chin_Lee]

Originally Posted by mr_alberta

My boss (structural engineer) claims that he saw one. He said that repeated spills from the aquarium above caused the joists below to partially rot and eventually give. He was pretty vague on the details though so i don't know how much of that is true.

I would say thats not quite the same as an aquarium going through the floor due to structural intergrity of the floor. That would apply to any flooring or stand if it rotted through

[frontline]

If you are concerned. The simplest, cheapest, and most effective way would be gluing and screwing plywood to the sides of your joists. Very quick job too. Just cut plywood to length and rip to seven and a half inches. Glue and screw in place. Could even do it with scraps from around a construction site. Will easily strengthen it by 3 or 4 times.