[TowerTalk] Grouting a New Tower?

[K7LXC at aol.com]

>  Have the same tower, I am wondering about the benefit of  grouting, 
especially after taking down a TMM433 that had a lot of rust  underneath 
the base plate as a result of the grouting.  My inspection  of street 
light standards has been inconclusive 50/50 grout/no grout.   Same with 
cell towers with nuts under the base plates, mostly no  grout.

>  Besides UST recommending it, why is it an  advantage?
 
    You use non-shrink grout and it's supposed to  become part of the 
weight bearing base. 
 
    If you flood the base with grout, it should keep  out any water - well, 
most of the water anyway. 
 
    And the LXC Prime Directive still applies to "DO  what the manufacturer 
says". But I'm open to real engineering answers on this. 
 
Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH