On Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:28:09 -0500, Don Wiss
wrote:

On Sun, 18 Jan 2009 08:54:32 -0800 (PST), dpb wrote:

Let's see---if it were a 1600 sq-ft area, the volume at 8-ft ceiling
height would be 12,800 cu-ft -- ~96,000 gal (ok, that's pretty near
the 100k earlier guess) == ~~6,640,000 lb-wt

I don't follow this. A gallon of water weighs about 8.34 pounds (depending
on the temperature). So I get 834,000 pounds. You must be using the weight
of a cubic foot of water.

Don www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom).

That's the weight I got too. Pretty simple math. I double checked
and a gallon of water is 8.34lb (rounded figure).
So I cant see where that 6,640,000 lb figure came from.

However, even if half the water went into the basement or down a
drain, that would still be 417,000 LBS or 209 (rounded) TONS.
No wooden structure could handle that. I farm, and years ago I tried
to unload a round bale of hay, (which weighed about 3/4 ton). using 3
2x6 boards as a ramp. Sure enough, all 3 boards broke as the bale got
midway down the ramp. Then the bale rolled down a hill, busted down a
fence, and finally stopped leaving a large dent in an old junker car.
Fortunately the car was going to the scrap yard, so it did not matter.
On the other hand, the busted fence left a few horses an opportunity
to escape and I spent much of the day chasing after them. I finally
got them, then spent the rest of the day repairing the fence. Not one
of my most brilliant days!!!

Jim