Noob chronicals, it's a atart

[SaltyDog143]

Well here you have it the very beginning...
I picked up our custom made steel frame, we painted it matte black with a rust inhibiting paint, it does have adjustable legs/bolts but I decided to try it without them in hopes of distributing the weight across the floor joists instead of point loading on two.

There is a small hole in the floor behind my tv which i dropped some layout string down, checked in the basement to where the nearest joist was and placed the stand so it spans 4 joists. They are layed out 16" on center and it being 48" wide lays it out perfectly over the joists.

Next figured out how deep the rear external overflow is, adjusted stand far enough away from the wall to accommodate with a little extra room, and walla! Its sitting in place. Next was to level the stand, took very little, one side raised appox 1/8", done. Next shimmed every 16" to be sure to transfer load to joists.

I really contemplated how i wanted to do the sump area, what i decided to do was to cut a piece of the foam board to fit inside of the frame and silicone it in, my hopes are that if we have a minor leak or small spill this will be my first indicator as it holds in this potential water tight pan...hopefully!

My sump will set in here as well as all my other equipment, probably grab pics of that tonight when i set it in.
A though I have had is should i attach a piece of plywood to the back to mount powerbars, controllers, etc to, thinking this might be a good idea, but if I fill it with plywood it will inhibit things like drain and return lines. I guess I need to get my head around how this will all come together first.

Well thats enough jabbering for now, will post more pics and questions as we SLOWLY progress.