Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2010 19:01:12 EDT
From: K7LXC@aol.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Concrete testing
In a message dated 9/2/2010 8:46:03 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
towertalk-request@contesting.com writes:
> Good Lord. Whatever happened top Joe Average Ham and just pouring
concrete
for a base? I can see all this if you have an gigantic hundreds of feet
high
superstation, but the average guy doesn't need to have his concrete
analyzed.
> You dig the hole the tower manufactuer specifies and you use the
rebar/cage
they say. You guy correctly if it is guyed tower. You add concrete and make
sure there aren't voids. 99.999% of us need nothing more than that.
I agree 100%! The problem is that the building department thinks
that everything constructed is going to be habitable - not something less
than 10 yards for another purpose. :-(
Also, I've never seen or heard of a tower failing because the base
concrete split fatally. It's always the steel. (Big base shifting in sand,
mud, etc. excepted.)
And it's burdensome for an amateur anything to have to comply with
this monetarily. What a waste of time, effort and money - for everyone.
Just my opinion. I've counseled permit applicators to protest it. It might
work.
#### Building permits for tower's are exempt under both the FED
and Provincial rules. However, my local municipality sez that tower's
must have a building permit. City hall here forces hams to hire a PE
and the PE must inspect and approve the hole/forms/cage... and photograph
it, b4 any concrete can be poured/pumped. The PE also has to come
back after the tower is installed..to check all anchor rod + leg bolts
for correct torque values. If the tower snaps 1/2 way up..after the fact..
or snaps off at the base..it's not the PE's problem. Every free standing
tower
base, including UST crank ups is designed to break 1/2 to 2/3 the way up..
so if a failure occurs..it simply folds over... and does not fall full length.
## 1153 hams here in town.. and only 5 on HF. Hams go through the same
identical
process as a cell co..as of Jan 1 -2008. City hall hates ham tower's with a
passion.
Not only do I have to pay for the PE and building permit... I also have to pay
a $500.00
surety bond...in case the back hoe/dumptruck/line pumps etc... trashes the
boulevard.
## It doesn't matter what the manufacturer wants.. the local PE will always
tweak it up a bit.
The newer HDX-689 tower's weigh 3250 lbs... with out the mast/rotor/ants. I
have the older
model, with double walled legs, Z bracing, and also X bracing. Mine weighs 5000
lbs when the
offloading crane fellow put the scale on it. Stick a 100' tall tower, weighing
5500 lbs with ants
next door to my neighbours brand new $700K home... and city hall worries abt
lawsuits...and so does the PE. Years ago, city hall made hams hire a PE....to
tighten every bolt
on every section splice, on any tower. One old geezer, 1/2 mile from me had
to cough up
$850.00 for the PE to torque every last bolt on his 56' tower. Big outcry
after that. Now it's
the concrete base they want..'done right'. My rebar cage got the PE stamp the
1st time.....with the
provisio that I close off the top with a grid of bars... and add a 2nd grid
down 4.5'. The PE also
came back a 2nd time to inspect the 12 x anchors rods... and also checked to
see if I had added
the required extra rebar. It was then stamped a 2nd time. It will require a
3rd stamp when he
checks the 12 x anchor bolts and 18 x leg bolts. This bozo charges $150.00
per hr... PLUS $75.00
per hr for driving time. The cage got inspected twice..instead of once..since
he didn't like it..and
wanted more rebar. Rebar + more concrete is a lot cheaper than having the PE
keep coming out.
He wants it built so he doesn't get sued..and ditto with city hall. It's all
political. They want
tower bases seismic rated as well..hence the 60 ksi bars and large stirrups in
the corner..and stronger
concrete. .
## City hall could easily demand that any ham tower meet Canadian S-37
specs... [25mm of
ice on all surfaces, top/bottom, etc.. and super high wind pressures + seismic
rated]... in which
case, UST + Rohn need not apply. Our eq of the FCC won't back up hams
either..not one bit.
Be glad you don't live in a socialist police state..like Canada.
later... Jim VE7RF
Cheers,
Steve K7LXC
TOWER TECH
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