[TowerTalk] Tower buried section legs -- Buried in Concrete or Below the Concrete?

[Larry Loen]

The Rohn spec calls for the legs of the bottom section to be buried a few
inches in pea gravel below the concrete.  My contractor suggests that as
long as the top is properly sealed, it's overkill and that overall, it's
better to encase the legs in concrete, protecting them from corrosion from
that rare day in Arizona that the water levels would reach the bottom of
the tower.  He suggests that the tower will be adequately sealed on top.
Soil here is acidic enough that I've been advised not to let the tower
sections touch the ground for even the short time they are stored here
awaiting erection.  Even if some got in over the years, rainwater is
presumably less acidic.

I don't try to innovate in these matters, but I wonder who is right here.

Thoughts?


Larry WO7R