Hey! I'm looking at suspending a bucket of custard over the bath. I figured I'd need a couple of sturdy, threaded hooks placed about 3 inches apart. I'd screw them into the wooden stud batons behind the ceiling plasterboard. This should be enough to hold the bucket securely in two place. But, I've no real idea of the best types of screwhooks to use. The last thing I need is the hooks coming out of the wood at the wrong time, or worse, the ceiling coming down. Custard and gunge are both pretty heavy. I figure they need to pretty long and thick and probably need pilot holes drilling.
its impossible to know without seeing your bathtub and your bucket. I would personally feel weird about modifying anything I don't know about (I.E. if I don't know how the bathroom is constructed, I wouldn't drill holes for fear of hitting empty space or not installing in a support column or whatever)
The "point load" of a bucket full of gunge or custard is going to be significant, even spread over three hooks, and it's very unlikely the batens supporting the ceiling will be designed to carry that kind of load - bringing the ceiling down would be a very real risk.
Most people who've done something like this have installed some kind of framework that transmits the load to the floor, or at least to solid load-bearing walls.
There used to be a semi-regular poster who had built a setup with two tall bar stools on top of two small four-leg tables to make columns, with the gunge container suspended from a beam between the stool tops. That was a sound arrangement.
I've done a fair amount of DIY work over the years and would agree with Dungeonmaster's comments above. Domestic ceilings aren't normally designed to support anything suspended, other than, perhaps, a light fitting, and even these need to be fixed properly having regard to the weight. And, if drilling, watch out for water pipes and electricity cables....these are quite often routed in some very unexpected places .
Hey! Thanks for the feedback guys. I live in a rental apartment with very limited space and options. I'll take your cautious advice and abandon hanging anything from the ceiling as I can't access the void above so can't make any reinforcements. I did consider building a frame out of timber or aluminium, but I ain't got the space to store it when not in use.
Stevolution2018 said: I have had conversations about this before, with people making home made gunge tanks etc. The dead weight of heavy, gooey gunge is significant. That dead weight falls on your head, it's going to be a nasty affair.
Having said that, find the joists (don't know where in the world you are), and start there. If you can get in the loft, then easiest way to do it is to add a timber spread across the tops of the joists at 90 degrees and use that as a support.
We have a 4" extractor fan grille that is fake in our bathroom (I will take some photos). In the loft, I have built a framework above the joists with a short pipe down to the fake fan/extractor grille.
When fun times are required, I simply drop the loft hatch (we have a posh one with a ladder), hop up and fill the sizeable tank. Ours is an old house, and used to have a large water tank, so we are well within limits.
I unscrew the fan grille and - discreet gunge tank.
The key is to spread the load.
Having said that, a decent 3" or 4" threaded hook, wound into the joist (with a small pilot hole) is going to take some pretty substantial weight. But I would say do that only if the joists are something like 2" x 3" or larger.
If you can hang on the single hook, then the weight spread over say 3 hooks will be fine.
One further thing to consider - If it's a fiberglass tub and that bucket falls you are probably going to end up with another drain hole. Water weighs about 8.3 pounds to the gallon and gunge is denser than that. A 5 gallon bucket is going to be close to 50 pounds at a minimum. If you have to ask how to hang that it's probably best that you don't.
PieJamas said: Hey! Thanks for the feedback guys. I live in a rental apartment with very limited space and options. I'll take your cautious advice and abandon hanging anything from the ceiling as I can't access the void above so can't make any reinforcements. I did consider building a frame out of timber or aluminium, but I ain't got the space to store it when not in use.
Alas, but some great suggestions.
I have a perfect solution for you... tower scaffolding.
It is designed to support the kind of weight of a bucket or large tub of gunge. You can sit in the middle of it like a tank Place two scaffold boards on the top, leaving a gap for your exit hole If your worried a out splashing, tape towels or plastic sheet around three edges It all pulls apart to be a pretty flat structure for easy discrete storage It doesnt look like a tank so if anyone sees it when its collapsed and in storage noone will really question it (or its easy to come up with an excuse for having it) Ebay has them pretty cheap, and different sizes A paddling pool will fit inbetween for a collection tray
I've done this a few times for private sessions... and ive attached my setup in the pics. The whole thing cost no more than £80 and is a sturdy, reliable (now the release mechanism is sorted), discrete gunge tank.
Feel free to message me if you have any questions, I love designing things like this
PieJamas said: Hey! Thanks for the feedback guys. I live in a rental apartment with very limited space and options. I'll take your cautious advice and abandon hanging anything from the ceiling as I can't access the void above so can't make any reinforcements. I did consider building a frame out of timber or aluminium, but I ain't got the space to store it when not in use.
Alas, but some great suggestions.
Pick up a boltless shelving unit from your local hardware store. You can assemble a basic frame in minutes and disassemble it for storage.
DuncanEdwards said: One further thing to consider - If it's a fiberglass tub and that bucket falls you are probably going to end up with another drain hole. Water weighs about 8.3 pounds to the gallon and gunge is denser than that. A 5 gallon bucket is going to be close to 50 pounds at a minimum. If you have to ask how to hang that it's probably best that you don't.
Minor clarification: The weight of the 5 gallon bucket will be the weight of the water, bucket, and powdered material.
When the material is added to the water, the mass remains the same, the only thing that changes is the viscosity. What turns it into "gunge" is long-chain molecules sliding passed one another. This is the structure of cornstarch (carbohydrates) and gelatin (proteins). in both of these cases, the thickening comes from the relaxed chains tensing back up.
PieJamas said: Hey! Thanks for the feedback guys. I live in a rental apartment with very limited space and options. I'll take your cautious advice and abandon hanging anything from the ceiling as I can't access the void above so can't make any reinforcements. I did consider building a frame out of timber or aluminium, but I ain't got the space to store it when not in use.
Alas, but some great suggestions.
I have a perfect solution for you... tower scaffolding.
It is designed to support the kind of weight of a bucket or large tub of gunge. You can sit in the middle of it like a tank Place two scaffold boards on the top, leaving a gap for your exit hole If your worried a out splashing, tape towels or plastic sheet around three edges It all pulls apart to be a pretty flat structure for easy discrete storage It doesnt look like a tank so if anyone sees it when its collapsed and in storage noone will really question it (or its easy to come up with an excuse for having it) Ebay has them pretty cheap, and different sizes A paddling pool will fit inbetween for a collection tray
I've done this a few times for private sessions... and ive attached my setup in the pics. The whole thing cost no more than £80 and is a sturdy, reliable (now the release mechanism is sorted), discrete gunge tank.
Feel free to message me if you have any questions, I love designing things like this
Came here to say this. I have literally just bought one of these (as I also have a 12 foot hedge that needs lowering), perfect for gunge tanks and stores in a shed.
PieJamas said: Hey! Thanks for the feedback guys. I live in a rental apartment with very limited space and options. I'll take your cautious advice and abandon hanging anything from the ceiling as I can't access the void above so can't make any reinforcements. I did consider building a frame out of timber or aluminium, but I ain't got the space to store it when not in use.
Alas, but some great suggestions.
I have a perfect solution for you... tower scaffolding.
It is designed to support the kind of weight of a bucket or large tub of gunge. You can sit in the middle of it like a tank Place two scaffold boards on the top, leaving a gap for your exit hole If your worried a out splashing, tape towels or plastic sheet around three edges It all pulls apart to be a pretty flat structure for easy discrete storage It doesnt look like a tank so if anyone sees it when its collapsed and in storage noone will really question it (or its easy to come up with an excuse for having it) Ebay has them pretty cheap, and different sizes A paddling pool will fit inbetween for a collection tray
I've done this a few times for private sessions... and ive attached my setup in the pics. The whole thing cost no more than £80 and is a sturdy, reliable (now the release mechanism is sorted), discrete gunge tank.
Feel free to message me if you have any questions, I love designing things like this
That's a great idea. I plan on moving home by Easter so I'll be sure to look for a place with a shed or garage. No chance of storing that where I currently live. Looks very sturdy.
PieJamas said: Hey! Thanks for the feedback guys. I live in a rental apartment with very limited space and options. I'll take your cautious advice and abandon hanging anything from the ceiling as I can't access the void above so can't make any reinforcements. I did consider building a frame out of timber or aluminium, but I ain't got the space to store it when not in use.
Alas, but some great suggestions.
Pick up a boltless shelving unit from your local hardware store. You can assemble a basic frame in minutes and disassemble it for storage.
Basically, took a rod and hung it from two ends of the shower. The glass didn't go all the way to the top, so you could rest two ends up the rod across the top. Drilled a hole in the bucket, tied a string to a rubber drain plug, and hung that over the bar as well. Yank the cord and wah lah. It was a 5 gallon bucket full of thick cake batter. So it was heavy, making it probably pretty dangerous if it fell hahahaha. But I did hang on the bar first to make sure it supported me before doing this.