Doug Miller wrote:
In article , RicodJour wrote:
On May 17, 6:53=A0pm, JIMMIE wrote:
My friend is building some new concrete steps to his back porch. He
has some old chevy blocks , brake drums and general automotive iron he
wants to get rid of . If these items are clean of fluids is there any
reason we couldnt use them as fill in the steps.
One reason is that you'd be ****ing away money. Call up a scrap
dealer and ask what they pay for scrap iron, he's probably got a few
bucks on the hoof there.

Another reason is that iron has a tendency to rust. When it rusts it
expands. This would put the concrete in tension and concrete really
doesn't like to be put in tension. In other words it would tend to
break up the steps.

Oh, for heaven's sake. Haven't you ever heard of rebar?

Uh Huh. And I see plenty of bridge pillars around here (in salt country)
where the rebar has rusted, expanded in diameter, and whole sections of
surface concrete have spalled off, exposing the rebar grid. That is why
they have switched to epoxy-coated rebar for road work in this part of
country. Bulk iron buried deeply in the center fill of a porch stoop is
less likely to cause problems, but, but it offers no advantages over a
proper tied-and-blocked rebar armature to pour around. I'd haul it to
scrap dealer (if convenient), or offer it on craigslist or freecycle, if
I didn't feel like hauling it.

--
aem sends...