[TowerTalk] Tower Base Removal

[K7LXC at aol.com]

>  I need to have a hole for  my new tower 6' x 6' x 7.5' deep. Due to 
limited lot size that I live in,  and mainly to keep peace in the 
family, I am looking at removing my old  tower base 4' x 4' x 5' deep 
and it contains no re-bar, just tower base  stubs. I can't remember 
what grade of concrete it is, but it is about 14  years old. I am 
limited to 2 types of removal, crane and Armstrong method.  The crane 
company won't make any guarantee's they can complete the job due  to 
complications etc, and want a hefty payment up front. I am now  
looking at having a young guy come by and use a Jackhammer to do the  job.
Has anyone tried demolishing their old tower base and how long did it  
take any problems etc. Since this undertaking is new to me I am open 
to  suggestions and or comments and hopefully some good suggestions.
 
Howdy --
 
    Actually your  existing base is pretty large. How much bigger does it 
have to be for the new  tower? 


While the LXC  Prime Directive is to "DO what the manufacturer says", you 
might be able to get  away with enlarging the existing hole. If the base 
isn't cracked somewhere, dig  out 2 sides of it, drill and epoxy in some rebar 
and fill it in with concrete.  Then adapt the new base to the hole. I've done 
this several times with no  problems.
 
    The role of the rebar is to keep the concrete from  cracking so by 
adding the rebar in the expansion, the new stuff should be just  fine. 
 
    It sounds like you haven't had any fatal problems  with the existing 
base so adding to it, despite its shortcomings would probably  solve your 
problem.  
 
Cheers,
Steve    K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services for amateurs
Cell: 206-890-4188