Securing Shelving & Hot Water Tanks (Earthquake Prep - Part 2)

A major earthquake will knock over shelves and hot water heaters and make a mess of your garage or utility room.  If you have a gas hot water heater, there is the potential of gas lines breaking, resulting in fires and explosions.

Let's first look at securing shelving.  In the garage where we are more concerned with functionality then looks, an effective way to secure shelving and other large objects is with steel strapping.  On the right is a picture of 22 gauge steel strap I buy in 25 foot rolls.  It comes with holes predrilled, which makes it convenient to use and it's relatively easy to cut to the desired length with sheet metal shears.

I first find the location of a stud in the wall behind the shelf.  Then I determine the length of strap needed to allow me to secure it to the stud, wrap it around a section of shelf, and back to the stud.  I measure twice and cut once.  Next I attach my strapping as planned using wood screws.
 In the picture on the left, you can see the installed strap viewed from under the shelf.

One of the most important objects to secure is the hot water heater.  In most newer homes, building codes have required the water heater to be attached  securely to the wall.  In the picture below you can see one of the straps, which is attached to a hot water heater and extends to the stud in the wall.  You can find kits for securing tanks or use the metal strapping discussed earlier, but I would suggest first checking with the local building department or a plumber to learn what the code requires, before starting this project.  

Additional items, which should be secured are stand-up freezers, water storage containers and furnaces.  Furniture straps can be purchased at a hardware store and work well for some cabinets and freezers, and I discuss using these straps in another article. 

The final picture shows a water storage container (250 Super Tanker) secured by metal strapping.


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