[TowerTalk] Aggregate concrete for tower foundation?

Rob Martin rgmrob at yahoo.com
Thu Jul 12 17:30:02 PDT 2012


Don't forget that the PSI rating of concrete is its final strength after the full curing period. You might want to use stronger concrete that sets up to your requirements sooner. Its ultimate extra strength might not be of value for you but being able to work on the tower a week after the pour rather than a month might be.

Rob
AE7EG

--- On Thu, 7/12/12, Andreas Hofmann <Andreas.Hofmann at microsoft.com> wrote:

> From: Andreas Hofmann <Andreas.Hofmann at microsoft.com>
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Aggregate concrete for tower foundation?
> To: "George Dubovsky" <n4ua.va at gmail.com>
> Cc: "towertalk at contesting.com" <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Date: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 4:35 PM
> Thanks. Yes, professional is doing
> the work. I was just concerned about the strength of the
> concrete. Contractor assured me it is stronger, 4000 psi.
> The tower is not going anywhere, specs ask for 2500 minimum
> :)
> 
> Thanks everyone for the quick responses.
> 
> Andreas
> 
> Sent from my Windows Phone
> ________________________________
> From: George Dubovsky
> Sent: 7/12/2012 4:27 PM
> To: Andreas Hofmann
> Cc: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Aggregate concrete for tower
> foundation?
> 
> All concrete has aggregate composition - gravel, sand and
> concrete. The gravel can be crushed stone or rounded stone,
> and the "aggregate finish" refers to how the top surface is
> finished. If you want exposed aggregate, you would want to
> pick a stone that's attractive when exposed. Usually, you
> pour the concrete, get the voids out (vibrator, etc), and
> then finish the top surface as a final step, whether its
> hard troweling for a slick finish, brush finish (broom
> finish) for a rougher finish, or you "wash" the top surface
> to expose the gravel for the decorative aggregate finish.
> The strength of the concrete is based on the ratio of the
> ingredients (and that's part of the initial order), not on
> the finish of the top surface.
> 
> Having done all three finshes (and I'm a rank amateur at all
> of them), the aggregate finish is best left to the real pros
> if a large area is involved.
> 
> 73,
> 
> geo - n4ua
> 
> On Thu, Jul 12, 2012 at 7:05 PM, Andreas Hofmann <Andreas.Hofmann at microsoft.com<mailto:Andreas.Hofmann at microsoft.com>>
> wrote:
> I got a tower foundation planned and dug up. Plan was to use
> normal concrete (3500psi) that I would at the same time use
> for a broom-finish patio at the same time.  Now wife
> things she would like aggregate instead.
> 
> Can I use aggregate concrete for a tower foundation? Will it
> be strong enough?
> 
> Thanks
> Andreas, KU7T
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