Towertalk
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [TowerTalk] Rebar Cage for Foundation

To: "'Kevin Stover, AC0H'" <kstover@ac0h.net>, <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Rebar Cage for Foundation
From: "Steve Jones" <n6sj@earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 6 May 2017 09:46:14 -0700
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
For my US Tower HDX-589 I had a local company, San Jose Rebar, fabricate the 
cage using US Tower's foundation design documents.  The price was $525 and they 
loaded the ~ 500 pound cage onto my pickup truck.

I parked the truck near the foundation location and attached the little 
concrete dobies to the bottom and sides.  

When my local contractor finished excavating the foundation hole, he used his 
excavator bucket with a chain to lower the cage into the hole.

I attached the big foundation bolts to the cage with wires as described in the 
US Tower foundation design, using a wooden template to hold them in position 
for the pour.

The inspector glanced at it and signed it off.

73,
Steve
N6SJ


-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Kevin 
Stover, AC0H
Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2017 8:11 AM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Rebar Cage for Foundation

All

Welding rebar is not for your average Ham Radio doofi.
You need the right steel, the right sticks, the right wire/gas if MIG welding, 
the correct technique (the hard part).

A welded connection when done right will be stronger that either the base metal 
and weld medium used to make it. You are creating an alloy when you weld. You 
don't need that for a tower base.

If welding rebar were the magic bullet they'd be doing it everywhere. 
They aren't.

Below is the way it's supposed to be done.

On 5/5/2017 6:54 PM, Shawn Donley wrote:
> Here's what I did.  I found a local company that would supply, cut and bend 
> the rebar per the cage design specs.  They had the professional machinery to 
> do this properly and accurately.  That's the hard part.  Took it all home in 
> my pickup truck and put it together on-site using conventional rebar wires 
> ties.   I did order several pieces of small diameter rebar and tied them on 
> as diagonals on each side to provide rigidity and have the cage hold it's 
> shape.  Had the backhoe guy lower it into the hole after excavation, laying 
> it so that each vertical rebar was on thick concrete pavers to keep the rebar 
> from touching dirt (a bad thing which will cause the rebar to rust, expand 
> and fracture the concrete).  Also want at least 3.5 inches between the cage 
> and the dirt sidewalls for the same reason.
> 
> 
> Good luck with your project.
> _______________________________________________
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
> 

-- 
R. Kevin Stover    AC0H
FISTS #11993
SKCC #215
NAQCC #3441
ARRL
_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk

_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>