Critique/suggestions/ is this even safe?

[Skins_Brew]

Ok, so after being in our new house for about a month and a half, I have finally taken care of enough of the mandatory home stuff to start focusing on brewing again. Prior to moving, I was doing the whole 'Lift the heavy pots of near boiling liquid" onto a table things. Since I now have a house, I can start setting up some type of tier system to stop this. Now, my house has an awesome carport, and an awesome unfinished basement, but no garage. I didn't really want to have to lug a system into the carport every time, so I came up with an idea. On the rear of my house there is a door that leads to the mudroon/laundry room. There is about 6 steel steps leading to the yard at said door, with a platform at the top and a concrete slab at the bottom. I got the idea to use the steps as a base for a tier system. The HLT will be on the platform, MT on the top step, and the kettle on bottom step. In order to totally utilize the stairs and plat, I built a wood stand that hangs over the side that elevates the HLT even more. Now I will be able to brew and not have to pick up a single kettle full of liquid/wort.

Now, does this thing I built look alright? I stood on it (nervously) and it held me (210lbs). I placed a 15 gallon kettle and filled it to the brim with water and everything held. I think it will hold up, but I am still kind of nervous about it. The burner and kettle will sit on this thing. I still need to add some flashing.

 

[malkore]

I dunno man, that thing looks like I rigged it up. Doesn't seem stable for 40+ pounds of boiling hot wort.

 

[Skins_Brew]

just the HLT will be up there.

 

[Rick500]

Seems to be putting quite a bit of shearing force on those screws in the scraps of 2x4 that are hooked over the edge of the rail.

I would have felt a little better about it had the horizontal pieces of wood that those two scraps are screwed to, were oriented 90 degrees to the way they are, so that the 2" sides were on the top and bottom and the 4" sides were vertical, then you could have cut notches in them to hook over the rail. And even then, I would make absolutely sure no person or pet was able to venture underneath.

 

[weirdboy]

That is an accident waiting to happen. Those "hooks" on the rails probably have the entire weight of the system (well, a % of that weight due to the angle) being held up by the front couple of screws. The points on the bottom are in a similar state; you're concentrating 100+ lbs of water + kettle onto a tiny surface area at the bottom, when really you should be looking to spread that weight out as much as possible to stabilize the system.

 

[samc]

+1 on being sane enough to ask for the advice

-99 on safety of that rig

I would never put a pot of boiling water on something that allowed access beneath it like that. Even if you built a super strong structure, the possibility of knocking it over or leak/splash is still ???

 

[Skins_Brew]

Yea I kind of had the same feeling about those pieces hanging over the rail. I will take care of those. Most of the weight is directed into the supports that rest on the lip of porch. The only thing that sucks about this thing is that if it fails, it fails pretty big Certainly not a case of RDWHAHB. I also thought of maybe lashing the handles of the kettle to the rail with some some high strength rope, so if it does fall, it wont fall into the stairwell. I might just set up the burner and HLT on the platform until I can totally trust this thing.

 

[boogyman]

Yea, that thing looks pretty rickety.. especially the bottom supports. If you insist on putting something there, at least go pick up some galvanized pipe for the frame & fittings that can be securely bolted to the bottom/railing of the stairwell and have the correct angles. Even then, you still run the risk of access underneath it, which is probably just an accident waiting to happen..

 

[Rick500]

How about building a plywood platform that extends out over both sides of that metal platform, with a 2x4 frame under it, with similar diagonals to what you have now?

 

[Catt22]

Are you crazy? That is definitely a precarious arrangement if I've ever seen one and in direct defiance of Murphy's law. Here's a partial solution. Run the legs from the far overhanging side all the way to the ground and figure out a more secure way to hook the other end over the stair rail. Consider some cross bracing for those legs to help prevent them from buckling. Make the platform out of 3/4" plywood instead of the 2 x 4's for a more solid deck. You want to try to design it so that any potential failure will happen slowly and visibly which will give you a chance to unload it or shore it up long before any possible collapse.

I'd set up to brew in the basement if I were you. A pump might help to reduce or eliminate the need to lift kettles of near boiling wort and such.

 

[buzzkill]

is it a death trap??????:cross:

you could sale tickets to the "show". we love to see crashes and gore.

come one...come all.

 

[sjlammer]

+1 for a good concept
-100 for implementation

if you really want to stay with this style, here is what i would do.

First and foremost.... drywall screws are not for structural applications.

1) Replace the 2x4 horizontal memebers (joists) with 2x6.
2) screw a piece of plywood to the top of the 2x6s, spanning the work area.
3) Use U-bolts to connect the platform to the tubular railing.
4) Your angle pieces look fine, but you need a way to make sure they don't slip off the edge. I would consider using another set of U-bolts (the deep kind) throught the girder that makes up the stair.
5) then adjust the U-Bolt so that when the u-bolt slides in, it just rests on the girder lip, as the face touches the edge of the bolt...

hard to explain, and im not drafting on my laptop... i will try and sketch something up at work tomorrow.

 

[Poobah58]

Not OSHA compliant!