I live in a city (Arlington, Texas) that requires new or replaced water heaters to be 18″ above the ground. Some of the pre-fab platforms I have seen in hardware stores don’t seem capable of supporting 500 pounds over the life of the water heater. Does anyone have any suggestions or a good source for a platform or have plans on how to build a good wooden one?
There are very good fiberglass ones that also have a drain opening to catch future leakage. The metal ones with a square top are also quite strong. The only ones I am hesitant to use are the extension legs that screw to the bottom of the water heaters. They work but just seem a little light for the applcation.