Tilt base project getting under way .......

[GnG8d]

Yeah, the daggone rain was supposed to stay clear for almost a week. It rained yesterday and today, supposed to be sunny tomorrow and rain again Friday! I'll need at least 2 dry days and some wind to get the hole drilled and get the pole set.

All this rain will be good for the mushrooms, but bad for tower building, lol.

 

[gamegetter]

or a large tarp to cover the area while the rain moves through.

 

[GnG8d]

Nah, I got to get the tractor and everything up there and the horses keep it pretty sloppy even a day or so after it rains this time of year. So I need to get in and get out without leaving any "open pits" unattended.

 

[GnG8d]

Well, we had a rain free day yesterday, so I got a few things done while it dried out a bit. I started on the tower project today and the daggone rain set back in this afternoon.

Anyway, I got the pole up the hill, removed the base of the old tower and trimmed some low hanging branches.

 

[GnG8d]

I'll drop the tower up the hill, so it'll never be at 90* on the initial pull. That'll help too.

 

[GnG8d]

There is actually 2 additional projects in this pic, the shelter for the horses and all the clean up from having it logged out. Clearing 13 acres for pasture is work, no matter how you look at it, and sometimes it feels like it'll never be complete.

 

[GnG8d]

Well, what started out as a clear day with 25% chance of showers, turned into a muddy miserable mess. I should have waited on some help, but I got anxious and wrangled the 35' pole by myself. At one point I felt like I had a tiger by the tail, but I finally got it stood up.

 

[GnG8d]

Are any of you guys experience in concrete work? We have had overcast skys and on again/off again rain since I poured this concrete. The ground is saturated and I covered it in plastic as well, so I don't think it is trying to cure too fast. I was thinking that I could remove the tractor in ~3 days. I finished just before dark on Monday evening, so I was thinking I could pull the tractor off of it on Friday morning. I still have to pour the tower base and let it cure, so it won't be used for some time yet, but I need the tractor by Friday to move a round bale to the horses.

 

[GnG8d]

This is getting frustrating. We just had the wettest April on record and May aint startin out no better.

 

[kd-5-bgt]

Concrete will set up in wet conditions but it will set slower than dryer conditions ...I see no problem with waiting 3 days before unhooking tractor,you should be fine.....but give it a few more days after removing tractor before putting any stress to speak of on pole....

From what I have heard from concrete suppliers that it can take up to a year for concrete to achieve full strength in your situation

The Hoover Dam is still curing even after all the years that it has been in use

 

[GnG8d]

I still have to pour the tower foundation, so the pole should be pretty much set for sure by now. I figure I'll leave the foundation set for a couple of weeks before I start setting up the beam. I'll just start out with a couple of sections as a makeshift test tower. Then run it all the way up later, after it's tuned in.

The biggest problem right now is getting 5,000 pounds of concrete up a sloppy, muddy hillside. I need 3 preferably 4 dry days to do that.

 

[Mr Clean]

How big is of a hole are you digging for the base. I went 4x4x4. 3 yards of crete. But mine was freestanding and thats how much they recomended.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I have put up towers just a couple days after pouring the concrete without a problem. I did however wait until at least a week before loading the tower with antennas etc. One 220 foot HEAVY steel AM broadcast tower we put up was built on a 24 inch diameter concrete pier poured less than a week before and while it was guyed it did weigh several tons plus the weight of the guy wires pulling down.

 

[GnG8d]

I went 3x3x4 on this one. I just poured it today finally :w00t:

The original plan was to take all 5k# of concrete up the hill on a tri-axle trailer and only handle it one time, but it's gonna be August until it's dry enough for that at this rate.

So. I decided that I'd pick up 2.5k# in each of my 3500 4x4 Dodges and drag the mixer up with the tractor, but I still needed at least 2-3 days of no rain. I'd still only handle it once though.

Well, I got tired of Lowes calling and I was getting anxious because I bought the concrete back in March while we were having some unusually dry weather. But of course the 1500 Chevy that my wife drives started acting up and the DRL were stuck on and she was brighting everybody in the mornings, so she had one of the 3500 Dodges. So yesterday I went and picked up the 5k# of concrete in 2 trips, 2.5k# each trip and unloaded it in a shed to wait on the weather (unloading was never part of the original plan). BUT, later yesterday I was taking a round bale up to the horses and decided the time was right!

I sent the wife in town for the mixer while I loaded one of the trucks this AM. Then loaded the other one when she got back, and up the hill we went mud flying everywhere, lol. Surprisingly the dually did better than the SWR, but we made it!

Anyway, I moved basically 15k# in 2 days which was NEVER part of the plan and I'm a whooped pup right now, but it's finally poured !!!

Then to top off a good day, on the way back down the hill I upset the mixer, not once but twice! I was really way too tired to keep setting this thing back on it's wheels, but what are you gonna do with a rented mixer? It's just a good thing I have a loader on the tractor, but I was really in no mood. I got it all cleaned up and it's no worse for the wear, but I sure wish it wasn't so dang top heavy

 

[GnG8d]

BTW, the hole ended up with almost 3' of water, 4 frogs and 2 dead moles in it

I just ran a hose down the hill and siphoned it off, the hard pack clay didn't really get sloppy and I hit clay after about the first foot.