Vintage 1950's Water Tanks
So this is a continuation from my last post (Weekend Project). As it turns out, we've finished building a really nice, solid wood platform for the 1950's water tanks on my property. However, how the heck are we going to get the heavy metal tanks up on the platform!!?? Turns out there's a local guy with a "crane truck" that does this sort of thing all the time.
My friend Charles is putting the final 2x6s on top of the platform. You can see part of the rust-colored metal tank on the left, and the silver tank in front of the platform. We had some great desert skies to keep us company!
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| Photo credit G.B. |
Here's a shot of one of the tanks being lifted by the crane. The tank had been sitting for years on an old pallet, and the wood was stuck to the bottom of the tank. I grabbed a shovel and started knocking the wood off. Only later did it cross my mind... the only thing holding this tank up in the air is a short piece of 2x6 on the inside of the tank. If it were to break or slip...
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| Photo credit G.B. |
I have a rope tied to the plumbing at the base of the tank so I can orient it correctly.
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| Photo credit G.B. |
I needed to disconnect the rope and get ready for tank #2!
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| Photo credit G.B. |
A little to the left!!...
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| Photo credit G.B. |
Ta Daaa!!! The finished project! Or nearly finished... need to find a way to attach the tanks to the platform. We get some very high winds, and I don't want to take any chances!
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| Photo credit G.B. |
A b&w shot of the twin tanks. This is probably how things looked back in 1950. Actually, more likely that there was a single tank on a platform of some kind (the rusty one is the older tank). As it aged, it probably leaked so they got a newer one, and never got rid of the old one. Anyway, I'm happy with how the project turned out. Twin tanks will be a landmark in our little desert neighborhood!! "Tanks" to my wife, who let me pursue this crazy project and took the photos.
Linking with Skywatch Friday. Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world! Thanks for stopping by, and have a Happy Valentines Day!
glad you found someone to lift those tanks! and not crush you! geez! :)
ReplyDeleteI hope that it works out for you. Even if it doesn't you do have a landmark.
ReplyDeleteNicely done and shown! Best of luck with your new luxe tanks!
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
<3
Great job is setting those tanks on the platform. Beautiful skies!
ReplyDeleteThat was quite a project and fun to see through your wife's photos. You sure do have some beautiful scenery around there.
ReplyDeletehard work done well with beautiful blue sky :-)
ReplyDeleteFantastic set of photos of an amazing story. Do you plan for the tanks to be functional? We had a rain water tank high on a stand on the farm but the roofline of the house was just above the tank line - gravity in-gravity out.
ReplyDeleteI am so enjoying this series. Am looking forward to future posts. Still envious though.
ReplyDeleteHat off to you for placing two tanks on the platform even though it sounds like one will not be used. Is it to store water to use of just for show.
ReplyDeleteNice shots!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad everything went well with the tanks. Love the pretty blue sky. Thanks to your wife for taking the photos. Have a happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteInteresting DIY project.
ReplyDeleteThe moment I saw you there under the tank, my heart almost stopped!
ReplyDeleteThe beauty lies in the fact that a 1950s tank's still in working order. ;-)
Interesting! Now, do you have to have the water hauled in for them? I wonder how much that will cost. I had a friend in Morongo Valley and their water was very expensive.
ReplyDeleteCheryl Ann
You used the pun I was going to send you. So thank you for sharing this amazing project and to your wife for taking the pictures (and not cowering in terror as I probably would have been while you were underneath that huge tank).
ReplyDeletethat is so cool - what hard work but it looks like you live in a lovely place
ReplyDeletevery nice. one project down....how many more to go?
ReplyDeleteWorth a Thousand Words
How interesting. Must be very satiesfying to do such work :)
ReplyDeleteHello and thank you for commenting my photo. This reminded my to add some information, as it is quite a fascinating and rare sight occuring in polar areas - in opposite to your fascinating and desertlike environments
ReplyDeleteI think this is an awesome project. I like working on small projects.
ReplyDeleteI like the skies in your photos - desert skies and very nice ones!
Thank you for stopping by my blog today.
Have a Beautiful Day and I look forward to visiting you again!
Peace :)
My goodness what a work ! Well done !
ReplyDeleteThat's quite the project you've got going, but it's coming along well!
ReplyDeleteKudos for your perseverance! It all seems like a formidable task to me. Beautiful scenery which makes the job worthwhile!
ReplyDeleteNice shots - are they just a land mark or will you be using them?
ReplyDeleteCheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Hi S P & P, I love the intensity of the colors in most of your photos. Great! Thanks so much for your comment about the old postcards ... I'm looking forward to your post on that card you found. Thanks for sharing your blog. John
ReplyDeleteWow that sounds like a really cool project with nice pictures to show as well!
ReplyDeleteI've often seen raised tanks like that on farms but never given any thought to how they might've got up there. The skies and scenery look awesome as ever.
ReplyDeleteQuite the project. We had to get a crane in several times when building our log cabin. It's been added to and become our retirement home now. Just looked thru some of your old posts and joined your blog. I think I'll enjoy following along.
ReplyDeleteThat was a big job! Interesting to watch.
ReplyDelete