That picture of you digging your base hole by hand spurred me on to dig mine
by hand too. What a job but it was nice and square. I hired a digger and
operator for the three guy anchor holes
Mark N1UK
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger (K8RI)" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, 02 September, 2010 4:17 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Pour Complete
>
>
> On 9/2/2010 3:16 PM, k2qmf@juno.com wrote:
>> Hello Anthony,
>>
>> I am not an expert on tower installation but
>> I see two things that "could" be a problem.
>>
>> First, they say to pour concrete into a hole against
>> undisturbed soil without a wood frame!!
> Many times this is not an option. My tower base was certainly
> undisturbed soil. It took me two days to dig the hole, but the guy
> anchors required forms. After digging the holes which looked good, I
> went out the next morning to find three quite wide and shallow holes.
> So, I had to have them redug and made forms (4th row of photos down on
> http://www.rogerhalstead.com/ham_files/tower.htm )
> It'd be better to rent some steel forms if you can find them and if you
> can handle them...they are heavy. The problem with wood is the form is
> supposed to be removed. Wet and decaying wood is like grease and not at
> all a good idea to have on your tower base or guy anchors. I made one
> mistake and that was to put the frame on the inside. Put it on the
> outside. Remember too that concrete is going to put tremendous pressure
> on that box. If not really sturdy it WILL come apart.
>
> Once the concrete has set and achieved a reasonable cure, remove the
> form and back fill. My preference is to back fill with dirt and plenty
> of water to make a slurry, but again it depends on soil conditions. If
> the soil is unstable enough to require forms it is either dry and loose,
> or very wet. Using a slurry in dry and loose soil will give it some body
> and it's relatively easy to remove voids. If OTOH the soil is wet and
> sloppy/swampy you are going to need a larger anchor than typical. Also
> do not use elevated guy anchors in swampy soil. In a few years after
> regular re tensioning you may find the pole pointing in line with the
> top set of guys. Back guying will help
>> Your hole sure has disturbed soil on all four sides...
>>
> That surface would have been good enough to pour against although I'm
> not sure about the basement side and working in the hole.
>> Second, It seems to be too close to the house.
>> If you have a basement the tower base could push
>> against the basement wall causing it to cave in...
> If it stood up to the pour it's likely to stand up to anything nature
> does.
> I'm wondering how they removed the forms.
>
> The only question I have other than the forms, is crowning the pour so
> water will not collect.
>> Again, I am no expert in this area. Just my personal observations.
>
> 73
>
> Roger (K8RI)
>> 73,
>> Ted K2QMF
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 2 Sep 2010 14:59:08 -0400 "Anthony J. Cioffi \(N2KI\)"
>> <n2ki@amsat.org> writes:
>>> Let the curing begin! All is done for now here. That had to be some
>>> of the hardest work I have done in a long while. 8.5
>>> cubic yards of 4000psi concrete. Next step is to put together the
>>> tower sections. Probably over the weekend. More pictures
>>> on Picasa.
>>>
>>>
>> http://picasaweb.google.com/109109461434829776230/N2KISTowerInstallation?
>> authkey=Gv1sRgCKjzp8rAo7jNzwE&feat=directlink
>>>
>>>
>>> Anthony - N2KI
>>> 30MDG - 1187
>>> www.n2ki.com
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
>>> [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Anthony J.
>>> Cioffi (N2KI)
>>> Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2010 06:09
>>> To: Tower Talk
>>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] concrete testing
>>>
>>> Thank you for the suggestions.
>>>
>>> I called Advanced Testing in my area and got some information.
>>> First, I checked the trustworthiness of the concrete company.
>>> That checked out. The technical person I spoke with had a lot
>>> experience with concrete testing and curing. A 4" slump and
>>> no more for this job. However, due to the very warm temperatures in
>>> the north east, I should cover it with plastic to keep
>>> the moisture from evaporating off the top.
>>>
>>> I will keep the group posted and post more pictures.
>>>
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> Anthony
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
>>> [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of jimlux
>>> Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 09:30
>>> To: Towertalk Reflector
>>> Subject: [TowerTalk] concrete testing
>>>
>>> So you have your concrete delivered, test canisters filled. You
>>> wait
>>> 28-30 days and have the canister tested and Whoops, it fails the
>>> test.
>>> What happens next? I know that if it failed by a "little bit", most
>>> of
>>> us would just figure, heck, use as is, that's what design margin is
>>> for.
>>>
>>> But realistically, say it was totally defective. Is it demolish the
>>>
>>> (huge) cube o' concrete and send a bill to concrete vendor time?
>>> (I'm
>>> assuming the delivery contract says that if they don't deliver the
>>> right
>>> material, they're responsible)
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
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