[TowerTalk] Digging a 5x5x8 Tower Footing

[Larry & Karen]

Last fall I got the concrete in the ground for my TX455 which is a 5x5x8 base. Going through a contractor, and this is in Iowa, they estimated $4200 and said the job was really too small for them and they were pretty busy with much bigger jobs but suggested one of his guys who does  work on the side. He came out and looked at it and shot me a price of $1900 complete, including re-rod, cage assembled and all. We agreed on the deal after discussing what he would do and he had the hole  dug in one evening with a small backhoe and the next morning he and his helper were here at 8 A.M. with a concrete truck showing up right behind him and the concrete poured in about an hour....all into nicely undisturbed soil since he had done a beautiful job of digging it square and straight. He actually went down about nine feet because at about seven and one half feet he hit what is called "sugar clay", which makes an ideal base so he went on into that. I'm fortunate that my wife is an electrical engineering consultant who has access to various contractors which did make things easier, but the point is that finding someone like this who knows what they are doing is a lot cheaper than finding a contractor who has  numerous other expenses to cover. And my man worked directly from all the US Tower specs  which he in hand ahead of time and even went a bit above and beyond when it came to the mix. He went with a stronger mix  than UST's requirements, that he would use for utility company installations. So, the trick is finding the right person maybe instead of the right contractor. He built the re-rod cage and dug the hole all in the first late afternoon and evening of the first day. So if your contractor is too high....which $4200 sure as heck was for me, ask them if the have anyone working for them who they have confidence in and does work on the side. You never know unless you ask.

Larry  K0IS