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[TowerTalk] Concrete, etc

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Concrete, etc
From: kb9cry@comcast.net (Phil Camera)
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 18:42:48 +0000
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
I'm no expert but have over 25 years of capital project experience and have had 
contractors pour all sorts of concrete for me for various reasons (slabs, 
footings and foundation wall, slabs, pedestals, floors).

Some musings on the recent subject matter:

Guys around the Chicago area just use diesal or kerosene sprayed on the forms 
after the forms are made, usually while waiting for the cement truck to arrive. 
 Never have seen any sticking problems.

Forms are used in holes in the ground to keep the surrounding soil from caving 
in, not to make the shape of the concrete.  From the pictures, it looks like 
you have good soil and no forms would be needed.  I totally agree with the 
warnings about "properly" compacting backfill around a structural pedastal like 
what you're building.  If not done so, you may have a leaning tower.

In the hot weather or if exposed to sunny conditions, most lay a sheet of 
plastic across the top and/or water underneath it a couple of times.  The first 
week is crucial.

The concrete would be setup with a week but I would never start applying any 
real load, like erecting a tower, until at least 3-4 weeks (that 28 days) is 
up.  Concrete is continuosly curing, reaching 90+% of it's strength within that 
28 days.  Then it will completely cure to 100% in a few years (at least that's 
what I remember reading in the Concrete Construction handlbook we had back in 
the Engineering library).

Phil  KB9CRY
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