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Re: [TowerTalk] Pour Complete

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Pour Complete
From: "Roger (K8RI)" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:31:10 -0400
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>

On 9/3/2010 7:23 AM, Anthony J. Cioffi (N2KI) wrote:
> Gene, et al,
>
> Thank you guys for the information.  The tower position had to be located in 
> this area due to the village Building Inspector.
I don't see anything wrong with the tower location.
> Originally, it was going at the end of the driveway.  Anyway, the wood 
> framing has to remain.  When the backhoe dug the hole
> he created a massive creator that was 6' x 8' x 8'. It looked like a meteor 
> landed in the yard! The base only needed to be
Poor technique. The back hoe operator dug the holes for my anchors 
almost at the size I specified. Unfortunately the soil was not 
structurally sound. Otherwise I'd have had holes that were about 4.5 X 
4.5 X 5' deep with nice straight walls.  I told him what I wanted and 
that's what I got.
> 5'x 5' x 6'.  Therefore, I had to build the form that would support the force 
> the concrete is exerting on it; including
> staking it to the ground to keep it from possibly floating up during the 
> pour.  I have seen that before and what a huge mess
> that created.  Yes, I agree it would be better engineering to be able to 
> remove the form, but that is not an option at this
For a self supporting tower and a base like that, you really would be 
better off, digging out around the concrete and removing the sides of 
the form. Then replacing the soil and compacting it.  Once that wood 
starts decaying, you will lose a lot of the resistance to over turning. 
That is one of the reasons they say to pour against undisturbed soil.  
However the tower makers emphasize removing any wood forms if you have 
to go that way.  I'm not an engineer so I can't tell you how much you 
lose, other than I've been told it's substantial. If you live in an area 
that is wet part of the year it can be a safety issue. If it's dry all 
year, the wood will unlikely go through the greasy stage which can last 
several years.

I wouldn't worry about a guyed tower as it's not nearly as important as 
it is with a self supporting tower...unless the tower is going to have a 
small wind load. OTOH I'd have second thoughts and a lot of concern for 
anything larger than a medium sized tribander.

73 and good luck,

Roger (K8RI)
> point.
>
>
> Anthony - N2KI
> 30MDG - 1187
>   www.n2ki.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com 
> [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Gene Smar
> Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2010 23:26
> To: k2qmf@juno.com; n2ki@amsat.org
> Cc: towertalk@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Pour Complete
>
> Anthony:
>
>       FWIW - I just helped the daughter of a SK up the street from me locate
> a buyer for her dad's crank-up tower.  It was removed a couple of weeks ago.
> The tower was a 72-footer witha KT-34XT atop it.  The base was located only
> a few feet from the house's block foundation - just like yours.  I was in
> the Ham's basement during the clean-out and saw no cracks in the walls from
> undue forces from the tower base acting on the wall over the 30-plus years
> the tower was in place.
>
>       I agree with Ted that it would have been better engineering to locate
> the tower and its base some distance away from the house - typically chosen
> as a length as far away from the house as the depth of the base's
> foundation.  The objective would be to create a wedge of dirt that went at a
> 45 degree angle from the bottom of the base to the house's foundation wall
> at grade level.  But you can also take some consolation from the fact that
> my neighbor's house suffered no damage from his nearly-identical
> installation.  YMMV.
>
>       Regarding the wooden form - are you planning on removing it and then
> filling in the void with compacted earth?  That, too, would be better
> engineering.  When the wooden form decomposes, there will be a soft material
> around the base of the foundation.  A stiff wind could begin to tip the
> tower and its foundation as there would be no firm material against which
> the tower/foundation would push.  But again, YMMV.
>
> 73 de
> Gene Smar  AD3F
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From:<k2qmf@juno.com>
> To:<n2ki@amsat.org>
> Cc:<towertalk@contesting.com>
> Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2010 3:16 PM
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Pour Complete
>
>
>> 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!!
>> Your hole sure has disturbed soil on all four sides...
>>
>> 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...
>>
>> Again, I am no expert in this area. Just my personal observations.
>>
>> 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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