[TowerTalk] how much rust is too much?

[Matthew Kaufman]

On 10/13/2014 8:28 PM, David Gilbert wrote:
>
> Hhmmm ... going only by the photo, I can't believe that there's enough 
> good steel left there to properly support that tower.  The rust is bad 
> enough to be crusty and flaking off, and if half the steel was left 
> unsullied I'd be surprised.  Again ... going only by the picture.

Where I've actually removed all the rust to bare metal, I haven't 
actually lost that much thickness it seems like. I'll take a caliper 
over tomorrow to see what the worst measurement I've uncovered so far 
is... and get an updated photo as well.

>
> I'm sure there are ways to reinforce that bottom section, but if 
> that's really a plate over a pier pin I'd have to wonder what's under 
> the plate as well.
>

That's certainly a good question. One suggestion I've heard so far is to 
just embed the whole bottom in concrete, rendering the condition of the 
plate and the bottom foot of the section irrelevant.

Matthew