[TowerTalk] split tubing in base leg

[Tom Rauch]

> I have a 95' Rohn 25 tower, guyed at 3 levels.  While
> mowing today I discovered a 1" slit, 1/16th wide, in
> one of the legs of the bottom section, about 28" above
> the 4'deep concrete base.
> Can this be salvaged?

No.

Any ideas on what might have
> caused this?

It's common for inexperienced installers to not install the
base properly. They forget to put gravel or stone in the
bottom of the hole and up on the legs for a few inches. Some
even stick the legs right in the dirt or pour concrete over
leg holes and plug up the base section. The tower partially
fills with water, the water freezes and expands, and the
legs split.

Of course this seriously weakens the tower and there is no
easy way to repair it. You can't pour more concrete because
it might freeze above or near the top of the new concrete
and split again. You could pour a pier with a pin, cut the
base and jack the tower up, and install a pier plate. Of
course that's major work and you have to know what you are
doing!

The question in my mind is...If the base section was
installed incorrectly, what else is wrong with the
installation? Are the guy clamps on correctly? Is the guying
proper?

Often when I see one problem in an install, there are
generally more!

73 Tom