On Mon, 18 May 2009 19:26:12 -0700 (PDT), Pat
wrote:

On May 18, 4:31*pm, RicodJour wrote:
On May 18, 3:00*pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:



I never said that corroding rebar in concrete couldn't cause a problem -- I'm
simply taking issue with your stand that putting steel into concrete
*automatically* poses a corrosion problem that will necessarily destroy the
concrete.

This is what I wrote in my first response to the OP:
"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.

Use rocks, brick, or other busted up concrete if you need some filler.
"

I used the words tendency, would, tend to - there is nothing there
that says in all occasions all steel rusts. *I also put the rusting
issue in second place in my short list of reasons. *You made a massive
assumption that I was somehow referring to all situations and you got
snarky about it.

Your two comments;
"How are they going to get bigger while they're encased in concrete?"
and
"Oh, for heaven's sake. Haven't you ever heard of rebar?"
imply that you equated an engine block dumped in a hole in the ground,
with engineered and correctly installed reinforced concrete. *I took
exception to that.

I appreciate that you think the OP - a guy who wants to toss a
considerable quantity of scrap iron into a set of steps as filler - as
being so clued in to the correct amount of concrete coverage, and
would know how to suspend an engine block to insure that amount of
coverage. *I have no such illusions.

R

So, Mister Smartypants, if all concrete deteriorates if there are
voids in it where water can get, then where is Jimmy Hoffa and why
hasn't the concrete around him deteriorated yet?

See !! There's a major flaw in your theory.

No friggin' way. That simply means that virtually any cement highway
in NY, NJ, or MI is suspect! They are all full of holes!


(I remember reading a few months ago about the city of NY digging up a
location and finding a bunch of bodies: a mafia graveyard, apparently,
with little hope of ever identifying those burried in the hole!)

Regardless we all know Jimmy Hoffa is alive and well, living with
Elvis in North Dakota.