# Forum Home Renovation Brickwork  Home made water tank.

## ozwinner

Welcome back Viewer. 
With all this talk about water tanks and water conservation, I have a hankering to make a water tank for our garden use out of core fill concrete blocks. 
What I need to know off any engineers out there is, will it be strong enough? 
Heres what I am thinking of doing. 
100mm Concrete base (with rio) with starter bars to suit the 490x190x190mm hollow blocks, and water proofer in the mortar.. .
Hollow blocks with 12mm rio every course, and 90 degree bends at the corners.
Core fill with concrete with water proofer in the concrete.
Paint the inside with bituminous paint. 
The tank could be 4M long by 1.5M wide by 1.8M high..
I could also have include cross walls inside to add added strength if needed. 
For the lid I could just use form ply seeing as how its waterproof. 
What do ya reckon? 
Al  :Smilie:

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## abitfishy

Makes it sound a lot easier to buy a plastic tank and install it yourself.   :Smilie:

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## Big Shed

> Makes it sound a lot easier to buy a plastic tank and install it yourself.

  Maybe not if you are a bricklayer...............

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## abitfishy

Whatever turns you on.  If brick is your thing I guess its the way to go.  Just hope you never need to move the thing Al.   :Smilie:   :Smilie:

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## watson

G'day AL,
on a brickoligist course I did, I asked the instructor the same question. He was enthusiastic about the idea and made lots of suggestions such as: 
      external piers every metre on the long walls
      and metal cross ties between opposite piers.
He said that an internal wall would be necessary with an opening in the bottom. 
He also suggested that I investigate making it circular instead of rectangular.
I never got around to it, and bought a concrete tank instead. 
Regards,
Noel

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## ozwinner

Circular would be good, but I have a nice rectangular useless spot in the garden.
If we ever move to some acreage as we intend to do, I will build all the tanks from blocks buried in the ground. 
I worked on one many years ago in Beaufort and it was the size of an Olympic pool, and it was buried too. 
Al  :Smilie:

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## outback

Please be aware my thoughts come from someone who knows ####all about this.  
I think your base needs to be 150mm, and I would plaster the interior for waterproofing instead of the bitumenousstuff. I just think it would last better. We have a few square concrete tanks with atrough attached, designed for stock watering near here. All are about 4M square. Most of thet anks could probably be recommisioned as they look Ok, but the troughs were poured after, so have big gaps between them and the tank.  
I know the area is a rectangle, but would a square help distribute the presure better than a rectangle?

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## echnidna

I had a place years ago that had a circular water tank done with normal bricks. It held water ok.
It was rendered inside over chicken wire. 
Dunno of it had any reo in the courses

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## SPIRIT

l would be worried about empandtion with heat ect over short time cracks will start thats why they were dug into the ground also 
l have seen one also in the ground cant you dig yours in a bit  :Confused:

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## Harry72

What if you used one of them plastic liners, not being exposed to sun light they'd last forever.
How would you do the water outlet in the bessa/brick?

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## journeyman Mick

Al,
don't you mean 390 x 190 x 190 blocks? You'd need to talk to an engineer of course, but my gut feeling is that you'd need 16mm or larger Y bar, at least in the bottom half. I'd also recomend you use a silasec and cement mix painted on the inside to waterproof over which you can also paint a bituminous coating. I reckon you'll need a 250 x 250 slab edge thickening with a couple of Y bars in it. Definitely worth checking with an engineer to save an expensive (and embaressing) failure. 
Mick

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## ozwinner

> Al,
> don't you mean 390 x 190 x 190 blocks? You'd need to talk to an engineer of course, but my gut feeling is that you'd need 16mm or larger Y bar, at least in the bottom half. I'd also recomend you use a silasec and cement mix painted on the inside to waterproof over which you can also paint a bituminous coating. I reckon you'll need a 250 x 250 slab edge thickening with a couple of Y bars in it. Definitely worth checking with an engineer to save an expensive (and embaressing) failure. 
> Mick

  
Yep 390mm blocks, I was thinking they finish off at 400mm, so they sort of grew... :Biggrin:  
Al

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## pawnhead

> How would you do the water outlet in the bessa/brick?

  Just a pipe from the bottom, straight up over the top, and back down the outside to a tap. When it's full of water, it's a permanent siphon. If the siphon ever runs dry from an empty tank, just use your mains tap, and a hose, to charge it up again.

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## SilentButDeadly

I know everyone likes a challenge but.... 
Given the space you have (4m x 1.5 m) then I could fit three round 600 gallon (2700L) poly tanks in roughly that space (each less than 1.5m in diameter) AND you'd get more volume in them than you will in your brick tank...

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## Big Shed

> I know everyone likes a challenge but.... 
> Given the space you have (4m x 1.5 m) then I could fit three round 600 gallon (2700L) poly tanks in roughly that space (each less than 1.5m in diameter) AND you'd get more volume in them than you will in your brick tank...

  4*1.5*1.8 = 10.8, ie 10800 litres in the proposed brick tank, 3*2700 = 9100 litres in 3 round tanks

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## KevM

> 4*1.5*1.8 = 10.8, ie 10800 litres in the proposed brick tank, 3*2700 = 9100 litres in 3 round tanks

  Don't forget the thickness of the blocks :Biggrin:   
3.6x1.1x1.8 = 7.128   ie     7,128 litres

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## Big Shed

Fair comment, I did :Eek:

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## ozwinner

> I know everyone likes a challenge but.... 
> Given the space you have (4m x 1.5 m) then I could fit three round 600 gallon (2700L) poly tanks in roughly that space (each less than 1.5m in diameter) AND you'd get more volume in them than you will in your brick tank...

  But it will be cheaper than 3 tanks. 
Al  :2thumbsup:

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## pawnhead

I know you'll be doing the labour yourself, but are you sure about that?
You'd need a slab for the freestanding tanks as well, but how much for all the blocks, mud, reo, concrete, concrete pump, bitumen, pipes, tap, inlet with mesh grill, screws, formply, and some treatment for the ply. I don't imagine that it would last as long as plastic if you didn't put some sort of paint on the ply. 
It _may_ be cheaper, but I reckon you'd be just about working for nothing on something that you couldn't take with you, or that any new owners couldn't remove if they didn't like the look of it (If you ever decide to sell). Or at least not without a lot of hassle. I take it that it's not going underground.

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## ozwinner

I havent costed it yet, maybe I should. 
There is a lot of talk around here of a tank adding considerably to the price of a house when it is sold. 
Ill cost it out and report back. 
Al  :Cool:

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## SilentButDeadly

Yes......my calcs included thickness of the bricks. 
Poly tank that size should set you back about $700 to $900 each....before any rebates you might be eligible for.  http://www.irrigationwarehouse.com.au/prod2319.htm 
But you could be waiting a while if you are in an urban area....waiting time on the above is 17 to 19 weeks.

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## Bleedin Thumb

Al, marblesheen the inside, add a couple of air jets.......Jacuzzi 
Everyone over to Al's bring your own fondue! Just leave your keys in that bowl over there.....

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## Felder

> Al, marblesheen the inside, add a couple of air jets.......Jacuzzi 
> Everyone over to Al's bring your own fondue! Just leave your keys in that bowl over there.....

  
I am not, repeat: *not* going over to Al's place to sit in his 'jacuzzi' and enjoy the bubbles, only to have the foilied one tell me that he intends to hook up the air jets next week!  :Eek:    :Fart:

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## outback

But Brendan, he alread has the goats hooked up and on a diet of raw eggs and onions. When the bubbles die down, ya pick a ping pong ball from the bowl, the number on the ball corresponds with the saddle cloth of your goat for the rest of the evening.

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## ozwinner

Ok Groovers, I have costed it and it will cost $4500ish. 
Al  :Shock:

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## Bleedin Thumb

That would be equal to 10 years supply of Perrier!

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## Wood Butcher

Up here a 660 gallon tank is around $825 so if you can get a deal like that down your way you might be on par?

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## pawnhead

You'd probably have to put them on a slab, or at least on some levelling sand, and you might need a crane to put them in place. It would still come in at less than $4.5K though I'd imagine, and it would be a lot less work for a (sort of) portable tank. You could take them with you when you go, and property purchasers may have different ideas for their yard than having a big concrete box in it.

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## ozwinner

I have the old 1.5M gap from the shed to the fence that is absolutely freakin useless  :Annoyed: , I thought about putting it down there, but at the moment we cant afford that sort of expense. 
Al  :Frown:

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## journeyman Mick

Al,
if you can't build your shed within 1.5M of the fence you would need special approval to build your water tank that close. Being core filled block I'd say it would meet the fire resistance requirements. :Biggrin:   
Mick

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## Wood Butcher

The one advantage of using poly tanks (not taking into consideration getting the tank in there) is that you could just buy one for now and then add more later as the funds allow.

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## ozwinner

> Al,
> if you can't build your shed within 1.5M of the fence you would need special approval to build your water tank that close. Being core filled block I'd say it would meet the fire resistance requirements.  
> Mick

  
The 1.5M rule was an old one from the 70's, you can build right on the boundary now a days. 
I just see it as a total waste of space. 
The boss wants to put a coupla chooks in the space.  :Doh:  
Al  :Biggrin:

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## ozwinner

> The one advantage of using poly tanks (not taking into consideration getting the tank in there) is that you could just buy one for now and then add more later as the funds allow.

  Same, I could build the tank in sections and just bash a hole from one to the next as the work progressed (With the Ozito, Im sure its water proof too  :Tongue: ). 
Al  :Smilie:

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## journeyman Mick

Al,
around here it's 1.5M to the side and back boundaries and 6M to your road frontage boundary. If you want to go closer than the 1.5 M you can of it's an open structure (car port or pergola) but if enclosed it needs to be fire rated.  
Mick

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## pawnhead

It's 900 here, and increases to 1500 if you're going three stories.

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## echnidna

If its a water tank go right to the boundary. 
But if ya gunna make beer in the tank keep it well away

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## outback

3000 litre beer vat, carbonated by flatulent goats,  MMMMMMMM Beer

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## ozwinner

Ok Ive just done a recalculation as I was thinking about it all of today and it was bugging me. 
For some reason I calculated 1440 blocks  :Shock:  :Shock:  :Shock:  :Shock:  :Shock:  :Shock:  :Shock:  
The real count is 250 blocks.  :Doh:  
So that puts the total cost at a reasonable $1300.  :Blush7:  :Blush7:  
Al  :Blush7:

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## pawnhead

> The real count is 250 blocks.

  I just thought I’d double check you this time since you’re a brickie.  
If it’s 1.6 X 3.6 X 1.8  then: -
(3.6 X 2 + [1.6 - 0.4] X 0.2) / 0.4 = 24
24 X (1.8/0.2) = 216 blocks, but considering that you’re laying them yourself, you’ll need the extra 34 blocks for breakages, so you’ve got it right this time.  :Wink:

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