This old ferro cement tank was built back in spring of 1980. The primary builders were my brothers Matt and Tom. They had never actually built one by themselves before, however, they had helped a neighbor to build one a few months earlier. My brothers were not afraid of failure. They needed water storage, and this was in an era before the easily had plastic tanks were on the market, so they just launched this project. All in all, considering this was the first one of four to be built in our neck of the woods, it has done remarkably well. The biggest mistake, was deciding to build the cement lid right onto the tank. For many practical reasons, this was a natural decision, and one for which no one could predict the natural consequences. Because of the intense exposure to the sun, the cement would absorb the heat of the rays, and unfortunately begin to expand. Since the lid was solidly connected to the sides by multiple rods of 1/2 inch steel, as the roof expanded so did the walls causing cracking and water leakage across the entire tank. In the evolution of tank building, it was found that building the tanks with a redwood roof that was added after the fact proved to be a far superior design. This past summer, the original contractor, Matt, had a chance to redefine this tank in a new and modern manner. With great time and effort, the cement roof was cut away, and the walls were allowed to free stand. Foundation wire was wrapped around the entire tank, and then galvanized 1/2 inch wire was fastened to the foundation wire to make a very strong barricade. My brother Mark assumed the time consuming task of wiring the galvanized 1/2 inch wire to the foundation wire, and this took many hours of listening to Van Morrison with a pliers in hand. But accomplished it was, and then the real party began. A crew of six showed up one Saturday morning, and the tank was re plastered with two coats. This took the bulk of the day, and lots of sweat. After the cure, Matt applied a coat of Thoroseal to the outside, and then the water began flowing. As you can see from the picture, it holds over 9,000 gallons of water rather successfully. Maybe a roof will follow down the road. But for now, we all are happy that our efforts were successful.
What a beautiful water tank, Noel! Nice to see it in its present upgraded and more functional form, full of water. Yes, we've learned a few things from those early raw days of pioneering on the land. That's what we do, isn't it? Live and learn. Apply the lessons of life and hopefully move on to higher levels of functioning. I'm so glad you're back in action on your blog, chronicling through posts and photos the evolving story of the family project up on Bell Springs. I miss being a part of those work parties, and look forward to the day when I can find a way to pitch in again! :) Tomas
ReplyDeleteAnnie and I worked on Matchu's tank and Robert's tank, that were both plastered the same weekend. I also worked on two 18,000 jobs up on Iron Peak. Those tanks will last forever. I enjoyed doing the tie-down wiring, though it was more likely Kesha, along with Van Morrison, who got me out there so early. Gorgeous picture.
ReplyDeleteI must say, the work @ Bell Springs indeed is "play".......not that different from when we were kids on Fellowship and we would build forts out in the back yard. The main difference now is that we have better tools, bigger ideas, and real materials to work with. Yes, it will be fun when Tomas joins in on the fun at some point in the future......we just never know what the Universe has in store for us......
ReplyDeleteWe just know that the Universe's "store" is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Tinker toys, Lincoln Logs, or mud pies, take your pick. And a Tonka tractor as icing on the cake. By the way, hope you didn't mind that I found the key to the tractor, and took a joy ride up to Garberville, just to say I had done it. It seemed the "Noel" sort of thing to do. I was heading up to Portland, but stopped in Garborville, when the tractor refused to go past the pub.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the water tank on Fellowship....
ReplyDeleteThat’s a problem for cement tanks that is difficult to avoid, especially since these are always under extreme heat. So, maybe that’s why the manufacturer started producing steel and plastic tanks. Anyway, your brother is pretty amazing to build water tanks even before it was popular. Having one can really be beneficial.
ReplyDelete@Richelle Loughney