Concrete footing question

[KennyG]

For this application, it probably doesn't matter much whether the re-bar is in the ground or not. However, it is bad practice to have steel not covered by concrete. If the concrete is in contact with the steel, it "passivates" the steel and completely stops corrosion. I've seen a thick steel plate rust through completely from the back side because a piece of wood got into the pour and prevented concrete contact. It looked perfect from the outside until it fell apart. I try to make sure reinforcement is completely within the concrete.

 

[EddieWalker]

I can add another horizontal rebar easily.

Do i need to rent vibrator?

Vibrators will give you a better finish where the forms are, but for what you are doing, it's not going to do much. Use a piece of rebar, or a stick, and work the concrete along the edges, hit the forms with a hammer to get rid of air pockets, and you'll be fine. If you are really ****, you can always fill in any issues once the forms come off, but it wont really change anything either way.

 

[Lelandwelds]

It is hard to tell when people are pulling your leg on a forum. Did you catch the part that said this was a cattle guard? Cattle are prevented from using a major highway. If this is a private gravel road, typically there is a lifetime gate next to it that the concrete trucks have to use.

Engineered drawings? 5000 psi concrete? Vibrators? Funny stuff. The stiff mix is solid advice. I suggest being careful the footing isn't washed out from flash floods or taken out of service by filling up with mud from heavy rains. No one even looks at a cattle guard once it has been in for a few years.

The stiffer mixes are a good idea. Those crimped synthetic macrofibers are cheap if you want to add a few ounces. Also, try not to pour in 100ｰF heat. Usually, a fence post is banged on the form and a rod is poked down in several places instead of vibrating. They do make cordless vibrators if you need to fill your tool box. My concrete supplier encourages a 3 yard minimum. Where are you putting the rest of the load?

I hate concrete work.

 

[joeu235]

Not perfect but will do the job i think. I learned a lot about concrete, including 3 yards is a lot of work by yourself when its 102F

 

[wagne223]

To a non rancher like myself, these cattle guards are very interesting.

With the cattle guard in place, you dont need a physical gate at all?

That cattle dont even try to cross it?

 

[bdog]

Not perfect but will do the job i think. I learned a lot about concrete, including 3 yards is a lot of work by yourself when its 102F

View attachment 566249

When did you pour that? I wouldn’t put the load of a vehicle going over the cattle guard, or even really the guard itself for a week.

Concrete reaches design strength in 28 days and continues to get stronger after that. A general rule of thumb is for non structural things seven days is adequate to put it in use like driving on a driveway, building a house on a slab, etc.

Maybe time flew by and it cured long enough but it seemed just a few days ago there was discussions on how to do it.

 

[bdog]

To a non rancher like myself, these cattle guards are very interesting.

With the cattle guard in place, you dont need a physical gate at all?

That cattle dont even try to cross it?

In theory correct you do not need a gate. I have seen cattle run across a cattle guard and it isn’t pretty. One time I watched about twenty cows run over one. Three or four didn’t make it and got stuck I. The cattle guard with broke legs. The rancher had to hoist them out with his loader. I have pictures somewhere but it was pre digital camera days.

 

[joeu235]

I bet the cows that tried run across had a lot of Brahman in them. I've seen year old heifers jump across a 6' wide guard. Mine is 8' wide. And any wild eyed cows get sent to be hamburger.

 

[joeu235]

When did you pour that? I wouldn’t put the load of a vehicle going over the cattle guard, or even really the guard itself for a week.

Concrete reaches design strength in 28 days and continues to get stronger after that. A general rule of thumb is for non structural things seven days is adequate to put it in use like driving on a driveway, building a house on a slab, etc.

Maybe time flew by and it cured long .

Its only been 5 days. I had to get the guard in because rain was coming (hopefully) and i'd wouldnt be able to get to my place. I drove across it a couple times and now it will have time to cure for at least 5 more days.

 

[joeu235]

 

[FTG-05]

Pretty good video, I enjoyed it!

 

[spitter]

Small forms like that just use a poor mans vibrator. {Sawzall no blade ] Just run shoe of Sawzall around form oh yea pull trigger.:drink:

 

[Snobdds]

Nice video. I like the fast playback...

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks for the video, that was fun. Was there any issues getting the forms off? I always use screws when building my forms so they are easy to take apart.

How many yards of concrete did you use?

Will you be able to drain the water? I'd be worried that over time, your soil under your concrete might become saturated and lead to movement if you have something heavy drive over it.

Loved the dogs under the truck!!!

 

[joeu235]

Thanks for the video, that was fun. Was there any issues getting the forms off? I always use screws when building my forms so they are easy to take apart.

How many yards of concrete did you use?

Will you be able to drain the water? I'd be worried that over time, your soil under your concrete might become saturated and lead to movement if you have something heavy drive over it.

Loved the dogs under the truck!!!

Forms came off ok, but did use the skid steer to pull of the ones in the back
It took 3 yards
If it ever dries out again, I plan on filling the hole in so that it is level with the drainage ditch on both sides of the road

 

[EddieWalker]

What was your minimum amount of concrete to buy? You concrete guy didn't seem to be in much of a hurry. Here, it's 4 yard minimum and 45 minutes to dump it. After that, you pay for another hour, which I think is $100

 

[joeu235]

3 yard minimum. I calculated i needed 3 but ordered 3.5 and only needed 3. He was there for 2 hours and didn't seem to care. Maybe because we talked about fishing the whole time.

 

[rbstern]

Nice project. Hard work, for sure, but you did a great job.

 

[copytmpmzl]

It is hard to tell when people are pulling your leg on a forum. Did you catch the part that said this was a cattle guard? Cattle are prevented from using a major highway. If this is a private gravel road, typically there is a lifetime gate next to it that the concrete trucks have to use.

Engineered drawings? 5000 psi concrete? Vibrators? Funny stuff. The stiff mix is solid advice. I suggest being careful the footing isn't washed out from flash floods or taken out of service by filling up with mud from heavy rains. No one even looks at a cattle guard once it has been in for a few years.

The stiffer mixes are a good idea. Those crimped synthetic macrofibers are cheap if you want to add a few ounces. Also, try not to pour in 100ｰF heat. Usually, a fence post is banged on the form and a rod is poked down in several places instead of vibrating. They do make cordless vibrators if you need to fill your tool box. My concrete supplier encourages a 3 yard minimum. Where are you putting the rest of the load?

I hate concrete work. epoxy flake floor Brisbane

Hi guys, I'm doing a few projects outside and need some advice about repairing a bent cattle grid. I have a tubular cattle grid, split in half with 7 tubes on each side. What happened is - the Calor Gas driver drove his lorry over the center of the grid. This caused the pipes to bend down by about an inch, as they have no support there. One side of the grid is now a good inch off the concrete. He only went halfway so only the first section is bent. This looks and sounds terrible each time you drive over it.

I want to straighten the tubes out again. My idea was to put the grid upside down, put some weight on it and hit each tube with a sledgehammer. I'm not convinced this will work tbh so does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[3Ts]

How much did that lorry weigh? You're going to have to turn the grid over and apply that much pressure (if not more) to reverse the bend, so, no a sledge hammer isn't going to work. Unless you have some heavy duty gear that can apply several tons of force, you'll have to replace it if you want it straight.

(Yes, I know it's an old thread, but it has a new and current post.)