Tanked

In the beginning, God created.... The tank. Or more correctly, the water tank foundation.

Pictured at left I'm leveling that crushed granite shown in an earlier posting. Level is good in the tank world, since irregularities in the base can cause leaks. This turned out to be a bigger task than I had planned, but as my sweetheart accurately says, most projects I plan turn out that way. All this not-so-fun work was in preparation for the first really substantial part of the new house, a 5,000 gallon rainwater storage tank which will hold all of our potable water supply.

A few days after the foundation was done, a truck and trailer showed up with the tank on board. The next group of photos are in sequence from arrival to the completed installation which took about 2 1/2 hours. Those of you who know anything about safe unloading and lifting procedures will cringe at some of these. Luckily, the tank was installed with no major incidents. In the first photo, notice the lone driver/unloader staring at the tank, trying to figure out what to do with it.


Here the tank is lifted by a single strap hooked to one tank eyelet. The wild spinning of the tank in the wind could not be captured with a still camera! After lifting it off the trailer he put the tank on the truck's fifth wheel plate, an arrangement which did not inspire much confidence from me. But, since the trailer was not suited for being taken down the rough road to the construction site, it was the only option.


Mounted up and heading down the construction road, the height of the crane ensured that no overhanging tree tops survived the ordeal. By the time the truck made it to the pad I had prepared, the crane was dressed up with a collection of broken branches.





Whew!!! Safely in place, the tank is now ready for an assortment of fittings, and will shortly be filled with a few thousand gallons of tanked-in water for construction purposes. Next comes the filtration, pumping, and UV germ-zapping equipment need to make the water pressurized and drinkable. Once the house is roofed, guttered, and pipes are installed from there to the tank, all we'll need is some help from mother nature to fill it up. Then we'll have the world's best drinking water.