How much weight can a single patio stone support?

[poohbear]

Been googling for the last 30mins. Either my google-fu is to grasshopper or I'm not searching right and need some help. I keep finding patio stone companies with the sizings of thier slabs of stone but can't find the weight load the stone can support other then how heavy the stone is.

I was thinking of also having a rain barrel on the side of the house but when Iread somewhere that a rain barrel is ~600lbs full my thoughts on the patio stone load started. I'm also thinking of putting this 189L bin on top of the stones as with other gravel beds over top or around.

Thanks in advance.

[bunya boy]

Poohbear,
The load carrying capacity of any item like the paver you are talking about depends on a number of basic factors.
1 The tensile/compressive strength of the material used. (Concrete, Clay or composite)
2 Whether or not it is reinforced.(Steel, fibre or other)
3 The actual working thickness of the Paver (100mm thick will be twice as strong as 50mm thick, in theory)
4 Whether the load is to be evenly distributed (wearing gum boots) or as a point load (wearing stilettos!).
and
5 What is put under it to support it?

Lets say you are going to use a standard 300x300 (sorry 1'x1') Clay paver, they will take a point load of about 50Kg (120lbs) if applied slowly. Of course, if you drop a point load on any thing like this, it will fracture.
If it is a reinforced concrete paver, you could safely put 5 times this load on it. This all depends on the paver being correctly supported on a compacted sand or gravel tailings sub-grade.

Just throw a couple down, stick a corner of your tank on it, fill the tank up with water and see what happens!

Just a note on those canadian tire made Bins, They look like they are made from recycled plastics (hence the Grey and Black colours) and may not be Food Grade(I'd bet on it not being Food Grade!).
I wouldn't take the risk of Fish or Plant poisoning by toxins from this type of Plastic, but it's up to you.

Hope you go along fine,
Cheers IanK.

[poohbear]

Poohbear,
The load carrying capacity of any item like the paver you are talking about depends on a number of basic factors.
1 The tensile/compressive strength of the material used. (Concrete, Clay or composite)
2 Whether or not it is reinforced.(Steel, fibre or other)
3 The actual working thickness of the Paver (100mm thick will be twice as strong as 50mm thick, in theory)
4 Whether the load is to be evenly distributed (wearing gum boots) or as a point load (wearing stilettos!).
and
5 What is put under it to support it?

Lets say you are going to use a standard 300x300 (sorry 1'x1') Clay paver, they will take a point load of about 50Kg (120lbs) if applied slowly. Of course, if you drop a point load on any thing like this, it will fracture.
If it is a reinforced concrete paver, you could safely put 5 times this load on it. This all depends on the paver being correctly supported on a compacted sand or gravel tailings sub-grade.

Just throw a couple down, stick a corner of your tank on it, fill the tank up with water and see what happens!

Just a note on those canadian tire made Bins, They look like they are made from recycled plastics (hence the Grey and Black colours) and may not be Food Grade(I'd bet on it not being Food Grade!).
I wouldn't take the risk of Fish or Plant poisoning by toxins from this type of Plastic, but it's up to you.

Hope you go along fine,
Cheers IanK.

Hey Bunya,

Thanks for the reply.

This is the patio stone I plan on using. http://www.millikenfarms.com/patio.html The top first one in the 'basketweave' pattern. I've gotten a few last year.

1. I don't know. I assume it is the default standard patio stone around the world. If I was to bet money I think it is concreate.

2. Given the price of the patio and that I picked up a few last year I don't remember seeing any rebar inside the patio. As a matter a fact I think I broke one many years ago and snapped a corner off and I din't remember any wire mesh or rebar rods sticking out.

3. I'll have to get back to you on this one. I'll have to measure it later this week when the snow melts. It snowed a day ago and we're expecting ~5cm of snow after like 3 weeks of spring/snow free weather.

4. I don't understand what you're saying. I am assuming you're saying resting the 189L tub I was thinking of on bricks meaning points? I plan on resting the 189L bin either buried into the ground to keep the water more stable (using goldfish) or sitting on top of the patio stone.

5. Umm... not sure. I was thinking of using a bag of crushed lime stone then pat it down hard with a flathead rake (I don't have a garden/asphalt 'tamper' tool) after I get it to grade then laying the stone on top of it. Afterwards then put my 6x8' greenhouse over top of it.


Argh... that 189L bin was a nice bin for the price and sizing for the 5 goldies I have right now to have more swimroom. If I got a 50gal tank it would cost me ~$300ish IIRC at www.petsmart.com (.ca does not work and all prices are in USD) which is a LOT of money for a small setup. Tho now that you mention it, I am concerned and wondering how if any chemicals in non-food grade containers can be transfered to the growing foods?

Where can I find cheap variable sized food grade containers? I'm trying to keep in mind if I wanted to do this on a balconey or spread aquaponics to friends that are in small living areas with an outside view what food grade safe containers they can use and not take up much space. Like know of the food grade 55gal drum barrels but anything more square in size? And where to aquire it?

[fishfood]

As bunya boy said its not the stone its whats under it i used to drive for a garden supply and pickup pavers i have seen 4 pallets [8 ton ]of pavers with pavers under one side to straighten the stacks standing on a good base [shaley rock] also seen a paver crack with only a few sticks of oregon on top
also you talk about patio kits most patios are only designed for walking and are put on a sand base [put pressure on one point and get it wet and for shore it will sink or crack ]
On my system the duck weed tank is still sinking on one corner after 2 years [ every 6 months i jack up one corner and throw a few shovels of dirt under it ]
summing up its a bit like the leaning tower of pizza its whats under it that can cause the problem

[Finn]

The patio stones look like concrete and are usually 35 to 50mm thick. Sprinkle some sand under the stones to level off the ground and you will have no problem at all. I am assuming that you are placing stones under the whole bin, not just the corners.

Why square tanks? If you only have one tank you don't need to worry about wasted space putting them side by side. If you really want square you can look at hydroponic reservoirs (for fish tank) you can get something large that is food safe and they are way cheaper than aquariums. If you need grow beds you can get flood and drain hydroponic tables or cut a 55 gal drum in half length wise and you have two grow beds 2feet by 3 feet.

Finn