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Re: [TowerTalk] (Repost) Engineering advice on above ground foundation

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] (Repost) Engineering advice on above ground foundation
From: <donovanf@starpower.net>
Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2009 22:05:58 -0400 (EDT)
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Rudy,  

In 1912, German company built an 820 foot radio tower not far from you on an 
ocean front island in Tuckerton, NJ.  They also had a high water table problem 
and built most of their tower and guy wire foundations above ground.

http://mcnally.cc/tuckmain.htm

They must have done a good job, because the huge foundations are still there!  
One is right next to a house where N2GUU, N2NFH and KA2PFL live:

http://ka2pfl.tripod.com/homeeast.jpg

This one is in the middle of a street:

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=39.5584565&lon=-74.3706393&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2&show=/556094/Block-in-middle-of-street-guy-anchor-for-tower&search=tuckerton

And this one too:

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=39.5580264&lon=-74.3705642&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2&show=/556116/Block-in-middle-of-street-guy-wire-anchor-for-tower&search=tuckerton

73
Frank
W3LPL



---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2009 12:27:13 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Rudy Bakalov <r_bakalov@yahoo.com>  
>Subject: [TowerTalk] (Repost) Engineering advice on above ground foundation  
>To: towertalk@contesting.com
>
>
>Looks like first post came out very difficult to read so here it is again.
>
>I have a rather complex situation that certainly can benefit from the 
>collective wisdom and experience of this reflector.
>
>My property has a very high water table and as a result my builder and I 
>decided to build the tower foundation mostly above ground. Specifically, we 
>dug a hole, filled it with compacted gravel that is above the water table, 
>covered the gravel with very thick sheets of plastic, and inserted 2' 
>styrofoam boards around the base. Then we poured the concrete.  As a result, 
>only about 1.5' of the foundation is below ground, 3.5' are above.  The 
>overall dimensions are 10' x 10' x 5'.
>
>Now I wonder what are the additional engineering issues we need to address to 
>make sure the foundation will last and the 90' AN Wireless tower will stay up. 
> Currently, we have identified the following next steps:
>
>1) Waterproof the concrete using silica based solutions, such as Penetron, 
>Xypex, etc. as permanent solution against water getting into the foundation
>
>2) Add extra waterproofing using tar/asphalt-like solutions to make sure we 
>have extra protection should cracks emerge
>
>3) Add styrofoam boards to prevent against freezing (it gets as cold as -25F 
>in Ontario)
>
>4) Backfill around the structure to create a mound that takes the rain and 
>melting snow water away from the concrete. I have also proposed we layer more 
>plastic sheets about a foot below the mound surface to make sure no water gets 
>near the foundation
>
>Any further comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
>
>Rudy N2WQ
>
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