Recent content by gjbuilder

Update ... We built cribbing / shoring around each steel column and then welded a piece of angle iron onto the heavy ones (one was 1800 lbs) and had the crane set them down onto cribbing/shoring structures we built around the holes. So they were hanging in mid air 6-8" above the bottom of the...

Well, the plan is to go slowly. I know it sounds insane but we are going to mix the concrete on-site and pour it in a few bags at a time. That way we can slowly fill all the way around the hole and make adjustments to the beam bit by bit as we fill it up. Most of the holes are 18" diameter so...

Thank you to everyone for these ideas and discussion. I think we're going to suspend the beams and pour a unified pour around them. However, instead of suspending them with a machine or the crane, which is unworkable, I think we will drill as small a hole as possible into the center of the web...

I've been kicking around that idea and can't decide if it's terrible or genius ... So, you dump 8 or 10 bags of concrete down the hole (they are 18" wide holes) and give yourself 8" of dust to set the pile down in ... so you've solved the ground contact issue. Then you do your concrete pour...

At these depths (18 feet deep) I don't think gravel gains anything over setting right on the soil - the bottom of the hole will fill up with water and the end of the beam will be sitting in water, gravel or not.

Thank you - that is truly a different practice that I had not thought of. I'm not sure if we'll go that way but I appreciate having this idea in my toolkit now ...

We're building a soldier pile retaining wall. So, we're digging 15 foot deep holes, then inserting 25 foot long H beams into the holes, then pouring in concrete. It seems to me that the very best way to do this would be to suspend the beam 6 or 8 inches from the bottom of the hole and then...

See above ... I have rethought this "sandwich" of materials to create the warm floor ... this is the method I am considering: ... and I am wondering about how the sleepers, for nailing the floor, would work above a layer of 1/2" foam. See OP, above, for my edited recipe and question ...

We're pouring a new pad and I want to cure it as nicely as possible. To that end, I am going to keep the concrete wet - perhaps for a week after pouring - and not allow the surface to dry out. However, last time I did this (with some concrete curbs) even a very low pressure misting / spray...

Any thoughts on either the reflective foil underlayment - worth it ? ... and the 1/2" layer of blueboard styofoam to gain a little R-value ... squishy ?

Does Ditra need thinset if no tile is involved ? What happens if you just lay it over subfloor (or layers on top of subfloor) ? Yes, we have had Ditra installed in our home for a tile bathroom and, of course, they used thinset but - again - this was tile ...

I have a 20x24 barn loft that is suspended over empty, unconditioned (outside, basically) space. Right now it is nothing but 3/4 plywood subfloor over 2x8 joists. I would like the finished floor to be heated hardwood and I wonder how thick the eventual "sandwich" of flooring is going to be on...

What I am trying to get is constant pressure for end users. If we have a pump leading to a pressure tank leading to a cycle stop valve, then we are always somewhere in the 20 PSI range of the pumptrol switch. Let's say we set the pumptrol switches to a 40-60 swing - then we will start our...

A minor update - I got approval to "downsize" the fire suppression pump to 1.5 HP, which means the household pump can be 1.5 HP, normal 115v outlet, and still be considered a "drop in spare". No special outlets, either - just 20a 115. Easy. I am going to run simple square-D pumptrol switches...

The well (spring, actually) is *below* our house - so we pump it up to a holding tank that is *above* our house. This holding tank (8000 gallons) is not that far above our house - it gets us about 10 PSI, give or take. So it really doesn't matter what our rate of flow / head / pressure from...