[TowerTalk] Rebar Cage Question

[Dr M J DiGirolamo]

Don,

 

   I built my cage from "weld quality rebar" and it was welded by a friend.
My friend is a certified master welder at a nuclear power plant here in
Virginia.  It took him the better part of a day to do all the work for me.
Believe me, he knew what he was doing and it still took him that long.
Fortunately he did it as a friend, free of charge!  It weighed over 400#
when done.  This cage was built to spec for a USTower 72' stand alone series
of towers.   I wanted to employ a Ufer ground and that calls for a welded
cage.  As mentioned in another post, it requires a special type of rebar
(quality of metal mix is monitored) and it's only a little more expensive
should you decide to go that way.

 

     Drop me a note if you would like some photos and keep us posted
regarding your progress.

 

73,

 

Mike DiGirolamo, W4XN

Charlottesville, VA

 

73,

 

Mike, W4XN

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Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:21:26 +0000

From: Donald Chester <k4kyv at hotmail.com>

Subject: [TowerTalk] Rebar Cage Question

To: <towertalk at contesting.com>

Message-ID: <BLU113-W605AC74CBAF2140D0D56ECF4FB0 at phx.gbl>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

 

 

I have heard it said many times that one should not weld the rebar cage
together, but tie it together using tie wires.  But I have never heard any
explanation of why.

 

What problems would be caused by welding?  I can't see how such a minor
detail would make any significant difference, but a welded cage is certainly
easier to handle before the concrete is poured in, and less likely to fall
apart just as the  concrete is being dumped.

 

Don k4kyv