I am curious. All this talk about concrete strength, rebar, etc. Is anyone
aware of a tower base failure due to strength of the concrete or lack of rebar?
(Except for damage from a lightning strike.) From what I hear, the vast
majority of tower failures are 20-30' above the base. Base failures? Are they
really an issue?
As I mentioned, 40 years ago, little was said about base concrete, rebar, etc.
OTOH, 40 years ago, 60' was a big tower. Maybe that's part of the issue.
Ken WA8JXM
On Dec 1, 2013, at 10:29 AM, Patrick Greenlee wrote:
> Mike, Be careful. Don't let anyone add excessive water to make the mix easier
> to work with or self leveling or whatever. That lowers the strength
> irrespective of what the strength would have been (how many bag mix.)
> You can have the delivery guy add a water reducer plasticizer shortly before
> pouring (but do allow time for it to thoroughly mix in) as the additive does
> not have a long pot life. This additive makes the mix act as if you had added
> water. It makes the mix easier to work, easier to get the voids filled for
> good reinforcing steel to concrete contact. This additive does not reduce
> the strength of the mix. Allows you to use the optimum water for strength
> while being easy to flow easy to work. The additive is not expensive.
>
> Good luck to you, I get a little pain in my back just thinking about the job
> ahead of you.
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