[TowerTalk] Vibrating Concrete...

[Marlon K. Schafer (509) 982-2181]

Hiya Pat,

Nope.  With a slab on grade we didn't need any rebar anywhere other than the outside 1' of the foundation.  Me being the ol' farm boy that I am and doing the work myself put in rebar on 3' centers anyway.

I figured that with the rebar and the fiber (and I screwed up and ended up with an average of 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 inches thick) I'd never have to worry about the base of the house moving!

Marlon
(509) 982-2181                                   Equipment sales
(408) 907-6910 (Vonage)                    Consulting services
42846865 (icq)                                    And I run my own wisp!
64.146.146.12 (net meeting)
www.odessaoffice.com/wireless
www.odessaoffice.com/marlon/cam



  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Pat Thurman 
  To: Marlon K. Schafer (509) 982-2181 
  Sent: Monday, June 19, 2006 8:03 AM
  Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Vibrating Concrete...


  Hi Marlon,

  Just curious, but were you told that microfiber would replace conventional reinforcement?  By that I mean, were you told that if you used microfiber that you wouldn't need to use any standard reinforcing bars/mesh for your home addition slab?

73, Pat K7KR

  Marlon K. Schafer (509) 982-2181 wrote: 
Grin,

Too true Dino!

I did manage to pour 4 trucks full of concrete last year.  All with 
microfiber in it.

What I was told was that it would do nothing to stop the cracking.  This has 
proven to be quite true.  My 25x35 slab for a house addition is cracked all 
over.  Pouring in 100* weather is bad.  Not leaving a sprinkler on it for a 
week is worse!

Next time I'll try the "more concrete" idea.

What the fiber did do (and was claimed by the concrete guys) was to hold the 
concrete together.  This tendency was quite clear with little chunks that 
were left on tools or forms.  Hunks would come off but still be stuck 
together nicely.  It was actually quite impressive.

We did have a bit more trouble getting the finishing done as the fiber would 
stick to the tools.  Once the concrete set up a bit though, that problem 
mostly went away and we were able to finish it just fine.  And power 
troweling worked just like normal.  One note I'd make though, when you want 
a nice smooth floor (like in a house) don't be afraid to run that power 
trowel about twice as long as you'd think you'd have to.  We should have hit 
the floor 2 or 3 more times.  I guess I'll have a nice surface for flooring 
to stick to though :-).

laters,
Marlon
(509) 982-2181                                   Equipment sales
(408) 907-6910 (Vonage)                    Consulting services
42846865 (icq)                                    And I run my own wisp!
64.146.146.12 (net meeting)
www.odessaoffice.com/wireless
www.odessaoffice.com/marlon/cam



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dino Darling" <dino at k6rix.com>
To: "K8RI on Tower talk" <k8ri-tower at charter.net>
Cc: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 18, 2006 10:07 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Vibrating Concrete...


  Roger asked;
    What are your recomendations for vibrating "high fiber" concrete.
      Hey Roger, I'm not a professional concrete guy, but I play one on TV,
AND slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night!  :-)  To answer you
question, "Add more water!"

I sold concrete tools for a few years and did all the demos.  According
to the concrete guys, they saw no advantage to the fiber and it made
everything "furry".  They still got cracks, etc.  The old timers would
say, "Use more concrete if you want more strength."...or something to
that affect.

To be fair, the "engineers" state that FIBER is the best thing for
concrete and makes a world of difference!  I have yet to be on a pour
where an engineer was ankle high in the mud or riding on the concrete
trowel machines with me.  YMMV!

Dino  -  K6RIX
dino at k6rix.com

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