Too late now, but maybe helps the next guy - always have a quantity of
boulders or large rocks around (they are plentiful here) and you can just
add as little or as much as you need to fine tune the cement level to the
right height.
For now, I'd just use tar or pitch on the legs and put sand/gravel around
them. The cement at the top of the base adds little to the overturning
moment. Plus it's a guyed tower and only 50' so you already have a base
that is way overkill. Most of the guyed towers (~ ten between 120 and 200')
here have no cement either in the base or at the anchors.
Don VE6JY
On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 5:27 PM, <fred.spinner@gmail.com> wrote:
> I agree.. I usually don't bother returning the 5-10 bags I have left over
> as even a year or two later they are fine for posts or small jobs around
> the property. (Some of the two year old left overs from my tower base will
> likely become supports for a "skywire" HO loop if I can get it in before
> the ground freezes.) But If I had 20-30.. yeah, I would.
>
> What always happens if you buy an exact amount is that you end up digging a
> bigger hole than specified.. especially if dug with a shovel (like I did
> for my tower). Then you don't (properly) take into account the bigger size
> or the irregular shape gets you. The bigger hole is good... more is always
> better.. but it throws off the bag calcs. Also I imagine over 80 bags a
> small amount of waste per bag adds up, etc.
>
> So I agree.. one other feasible plan is to have someone ready to run into
> town and get 10-20 more bags based on where you are at when the hole is
> 1/2-3/4 the way full. I've done that before.. and even if the rest of the
> concrete gets poured two hours later it's ok.
>
> I'd also always count on double the sand and pea gravel for the bottom of
> the concrete base of the tower and use it. I've seen too many tower bases
> fail because they don't drain. Ultimately a pier pin is the best
> configuration for a guyed tower.. but it doesn't work well if it's a
> building bracket tower (like I ended putting up 1/2 the height of the
> planned pier pinned/guyed tower... :O( )...
>
> Good Luck.
>
> Fred W0FMS
>
>
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