Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. Hopefullay we
will not have much left to move by the following Monday. We are renting a
lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

"Leon" wrote in
:

Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the
final walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move.
Hopefullay we will not have much left to move by the following Monday.
We are renting a lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big
stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...21576250374201
34/#/photos/lcb11211/5274417138/in/set-72157625037420134/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...21576250374201
34/#/photos/lcb11211/5273812267/in/set-72157625037420134/lightbox/

Congratulations! Happy Holidays and a productive 2011!

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

On Dec 19, 11:19*am, "Leon" wrote:
Wellllllll the time has finally come. *Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. *Hopefullay we
will not have much left to move by the following Monday. *We are renting a
lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...-7215762503742...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...-7215762503742...

I am genuinely happy for you and yours. What a nice way to ring in the
New Year as well!

"Leon" wrote in message
...
Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. Hopefullay
we will not have much left to move by the following Monday. We are
renting a lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

Hey, you get to move for Christmas. Yeah!!

It looks like the folks you hired did what they were supposed to do when
they were supposed to do it. Imagine, folks who tell you what they are
going to do, and then actually do it!

Life must be good in the twilight zone. G

"Han" wrote in message
...
"Leon" wrote in
:

Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the
final walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move.
Hopefullay we will not have much left to move by the following Monday.
We are renting a lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big
stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...21576250374201
34/#/photos/lcb11211/5274417138/in/set-72157625037420134/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...21576250374201
34/#/photos/lcb11211/5273812267/in/set-72157625037420134/lightbox/

Congratulations! Happy Holidays and a productive 2011!

Thank you Han

"Robatoy" wrote in message
...
On Dec 19, 11:19 am, "Leon" wrote:
Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. Hopefullay we
will not have much left to move by the following Monday. We are renting a
lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...-7215762503742...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...-7215762503742...

I am genuinely happy for you and yours. What a nice way to ring in the
New Year as well!


Thank you. I hope we can relax enough to enjoy new years. ;~)

"Lee Michaels" leemichaels*nadaspam* at comcast dot net wrote in message
.com...


"Leon" wrote in message
...
Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. Hopefullay
we will not have much left to move by the following Monday. We are
renting a lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

Hey, you get to move for Christmas. Yeah!!

It looks like the folks you hired did what they were supposed to do when
they were supposed to do it. Imagine, folks who tell you what they are
going to do, and then actually do it!

Life must be good in the twilight zone. G

I'll have to say that there were no surprises that we could not correct. I
feel that we got a pretty good deal on everything and they were
accommodating on those items that were a matter of fitting into the builders
given budget. The fact that I visited the site probably 20 times during the
build may not have hurt either. ;~) The weather absolutely cooperated
also.

On Sun, 19 Dec 2010 10:19:59 -0600, "Leon"
wrote:

Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. Hopefullay we
will not have much left to move by the following Monday. We are renting a
lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

Congrats, Leon. It has been a long time coming.

Now go dig that bloody mulch away from those poor tree trunks before
it kills each and every one of those trees! (or is it beveled down to
the ground there? I can't quite make it out, but it looks as if there
are 6" of mulch all the way up to and against the trunk.)


--
"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country
against his government." --Edward Abbey

Leon wrote:
Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. Hopefullay we
will not have much left to move by the following Monday. We are renting a
lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/


Merry Christmas! That is a heap of house. Looks well built, too.

--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA

I may have taught you everything *you*
know, but I haven't taught you
everything *I* know.

Leon wrote:
Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. Hopefullay we
will not have much left to move by the following Monday. We are renting a
lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/


May I ask an ignorant question? Does the tension rods eliminate the
need for rebar? I've never been around when tension rods were used.
When the slab for our last house was poured, they used the channels
like yours, tons of rebar, but no stress rods. It cracked anyway.

--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA

On 12/19/2010 7:05 PM, Larry Jaques wrote:

Now go dig that bloody mulch away from those poor tree trunks before
it kills each and every one of those trees! (or is it beveled down to
the ground there? I can't quite make it out, but it looks as if there
are 6" of mulch all the way up to and against the trunk.)

It's an insidious plot to kill all the trees in Texas to make it look
more homey, like Northern Mexico.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:14:24 -0600, Swingman wrote:

On 12/19/2010 7:05 PM, Larry Jaques wrote:

Now go dig that bloody mulch away from those poor tree trunks before
it kills each and every one of those trees! (or is it beveled down to
the ground there? I can't quite make it out, but it looks as if there
are 6" of mulch all the way up to and against the trunk.)

It's an insidious plot to kill all the trees in Texas to make it look
more homey, like Northern Mexico.

I think you've uncovered an Obamunist plot, Swingy! That's why Dems
are pushing for "immigration reform", to debark and kill all our
trees. Next they'll be after the poor Canuckistanis!

--
"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country
against his government." --Edward Abbey

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Dec 2010 10:19:59 -0600, "Leon"
wrote:

Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. Hopefullay
we
will not have much left to move by the following Monday. We are renting a
lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

Congrats, Leon. It has been a long time coming.

Now go dig that bloody mulch away from those poor tree trunks before
it kills each and every one of those trees! (or is it beveled down to
the ground there? I can't quite make it out, but it looks as if there
are 6" of mulch all the way up to and against the trunk.)

Already aware of what too much mulch and or dirt can do if it is pilled
too high around the tree, and around the trunk is not the only problem.
It is not very deep at all, most of the bulge is the ball that came with the
tree.

Thanks

"Gerald Ross" wrote in message
...
Leon wrote:
Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. Hopefullay
we
will not have much left to move by the following Monday. We are renting
a
lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/


Merry Christmas! That is a heap of house. Looks well built, too.

Thank you Gerald.

"Gerald Ross" wrote in message
news
Leon wrote:
Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. Hopefullay
we
will not have much left to move by the following Monday. We are renting
a
lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/


May I ask an ignorant question? Does the tension rods eliminate the need
for rebar? I've never been around when tension rods were used. When the
slab for our last house was poured, they used the channels like yours,
tons of rebar, but no stress rods. It cracked anyway.



I am no expert on the matter however when I took archetectural drafting in
school the standard was rebar every where. It looked like we were designing
freeway concrete overpasses. Our current 30 year old house and this house
use tension cables. After the concrete has had a period of time to cure but
not too long the nuts on the ends of each cable are tightened to a
predetermined torque. To the best of my knowledge this does not acutally
prevent cracks especially surface cracks but it is supposed to prevent the
seperation of the foundation in the event it cracked all the way through.

Leon wrote:


"Gerald Ross" wrote in message
news
Leon wrote:
Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. Hopefullay
we
will not have much left to move by the following Monday. We are renting
a
lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,


http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/


May I ask an ignorant question? Does the tension rods eliminate the need
for rebar? I've never been around when tension rods were used. When the
slab for our last house was poured, they used the channels like yours,
tons of rebar, but no stress rods. It cracked anyway.



I am no expert on the matter however when I took archetectural drafting in
school the standard was rebar every where. It looked like we were
designing
freeway concrete overpasses. Our current 30 year old house and this house
use tension cables. After the concrete has had a period of time to cure
but not too long the nuts on the ends of each cable are tightened to a
predetermined torque. To the best of my knowledge this does not acutally
prevent cracks especially surface cracks but it is supposed to prevent the
seperation of the foundation in the event it cracked all the way through.
I could see this system used in earthquake prone areas but Texas? Wasn't
aware Texas had earthquake problems or is it Expansive Soils? Seems like a
lot of work and expense to keep concrete from cracking. Haven't even seen
that systems used in California where I would expect it, with all their
silly regulations on the most minor things.
--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"

Man. 2010.1 Spring
KDE4.4
2.6.33.5-desktop-2mnb

On 12/20/2010 9:15 AM, Rich wrote:
Leon wrote:

May I ask an ignorant question? Does the tension rods eliminate the need
for rebar? I've never been around when tension rods were used. When the
slab for our last house was poured, they used the channels like yours,
tons of rebar, but no stress rods. It cracked anyway.



I am no expert on the matter however when I took archetectural drafting in
school the standard was rebar every where. It looked like we were
designing
freeway concrete overpasses. Our current 30 year old house and this house
use tension cables. After the concrete has had a period of time to cure
but not too long the nuts on the ends of each cable are tightened to a
predetermined torque. To the best of my knowledge this does not acutally
prevent cracks especially surface cracks but it is supposed to prevent the
seperation of the foundation in the event it cracked all the way through.
I could see this system used in earthquake prone areas but Texas? Wasn't
aware Texas had earthquake problems or is it Expansive Soils? Seems like a
lot of work and expense to keep concrete from cracking. Haven't even seen
that systems used in California where I would expect it, with all their
silly regulations on the most minor things.

For both you and Leon:

http://houstonslabfoundations.com/

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On 12/20/2010 9:15 AM, Rich wrote:

I could see this system used in earthquake prone areas but Texas? Wasn't
aware Texas had earthquake problems or is it Expansive Soils?

Indeed, it is ALL about "expansive soils" ...

The tail that wags the dog regarding the types of foundation used in
construction is the "soil report" for the particular foundation's
_location upon which it is built_.

Our soil in this region is mostly expansive clays. The main problem,
simplistically speaking, with this type of soil is periodic "upheaval"
due to a cycle of drought and wet seasons, which puts pressure on the
bottom of the foundation, said pressure from underneath causing
foundation failures.

The best possible foundation for this type of soil is, IMO, a
"structural slab with void space", which alleviates the upheaval
pressure by actually having a void beneath the foundation.

An extreme example of this can be seen in the following foundation I
built last year where the soil required a 12" void space beneath the
grade beams, even though it was a crawl space and not a slab on grade:

http://picasaweb.google.com/karlcail...Ij3svr7nb34fg#

The soil in this area heaved up to six inches depending upon drought cycles.

These types of foundation are much more expensive than a post tension
slab, the latter which has a high fixability factor in the event of a
foundation failure, and this factor is a valid concept.

As you can see in the previous link posted, many types of foundations
will work in these types of soil, but it boils down to the fact that
tract/volume home builders can play statistical odds on foundation
failures that custom home builders can't readily play when it comes to
choosing a foundation type.

In a nutshell, you ALWAYS let the soil report dictate the type of slab,
and in most cases the builder will have a choice of valid types and
costs from which to choose stated in that report.

With foundations, you make your choices and you take your chances ...

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Swingman wrote:

On 12/20/2010 9:15 AM, Rich wrote:

I could see this system used in earthquake prone areas but Texas? Wasn't
aware Texas had earthquake problems or is it Expansive Soils?

Indeed, it is ALL about "expansive soils" ...

The tail that wags the dog regarding the types of foundation used in
construction is the "soil report" for the particular foundation's
_location upon which it is built_.

Our soil in this region is mostly expansive clays. The main problem,
simplistically speaking, with this type of soil is periodic "upheaval"
due to a cycle of drought and wet seasons, which puts pressure on the
bottom of the foundation, said pressure from underneath causing
foundation failures.

The best possible foundation for this type of soil is, IMO, a
"structural slab with void space", which alleviates the upheaval
pressure by actually having a void beneath the foundation.

An extreme example of this can be seen in the following foundation I
built last year where the soil required a 12" void space beneath the
grade beams, even though it was a crawl space and not a slab on grade:


http://picasaweb.google.com/karlcail...Ij3svr7nb34fg#

The soil in this area heaved up to six inches depending upon drought
cycles.

These types of foundation are much more expensive than a post tension
slab, the latter which has a high fixability factor in the event of a
foundation failure, and this factor is a valid concept.

As you can see in the previous link posted, many types of foundations
will work in these types of soil, but it boils down to the fact that
tract/volume home builders can play statistical odds on foundation
failures that custom home builders can't readily play when it comes to
choosing a foundation type.

In a nutshell, you ALWAYS let the soil report dictate the type of slab,
and in most cases the builder will have a choice of valid types and
costs from which to choose stated in that report.

With foundations, you make your choices and you take your chances ...

Wow, lots of work! Are the poured columns setting on bedrock? Wondering how
far you have to go down to hit bedrock? I know it will very...


--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"

Man. 2010.1 Spring
KDE4.4
2.6.33.5-desktop-2mnb

On Dec 20, 8:04*am, Swingman wrote:
On 12/20/2010 9:15 AM, Rich wrote:

I could see this system used in earthquake prone areas but Texas? Wasn't
aware Texas had earthquake problems or is it Expansive Soils?

Indeed, it is ALL about "expansive soils" ...

The tail that wags the dog regarding the types of foundation used in
construction is the "soil report" for the particular foundation's
_location upon which it is built_.

Our soil in this region is mostly expansive clays. The main problem,
simplistically speaking, with this type of soil is periodic "upheaval"
due to a cycle of drought and wet seasons, which puts pressure on the
bottom of the foundation, said pressure from underneath causing
foundation failures.

The best possible foundation for this type of soil is, IMO, a
"structural slab with void space", which alleviates the upheaval
pressure by actually having a void beneath the foundation.

An extreme example of this can be seen in the following foundation I
built last year where the soil required a 12" void space beneath the
grade beams, even though it was a crawl space and not a slab on grade:

http://picasaweb.google.com/karlcail...authkey=Gv1sRg....

The soil in this area heaved up to six inches depending upon drought cycles.

These types of foundation are much more expensive than a post tension
slab, the latter which has a high fixability factor in the event of a
foundation failure, and this factor is a valid concept.

As you can see in the previous link posted, many types of foundations
will work in these types of soil, but it boils down to the fact that
tract/volume home builders can play statistical odds on foundation
failures that custom home builders can't readily play when it comes to
choosing a foundation type.

In a nutshell, you ALWAYS let the soil report dictate the type of slab,
and in most cases the builder will have a choice of valid types and
costs from which to choose stated in that report.

With foundations, you make your choices and you take your chances ...

Interesting Swing. And I thought we had problems with permafrost.

Luigi

Nicely done, Leon!

You may be the first ever to have your house built on time, finished
at the expected date (unless of course, you have Swing build
it..... ;^) ) in good order.

Good for you!

I have a feeling this is long deserved for you and Kim. I'll bet she
is thrilled. The house looks great.

Robert

wrote:
Nicely done, Leon!

You may be the first ever to have your house built on time, finished
at the expected date (unless of course, you have Swing build
it..... ;^) ) in good order.

Good for you!

I have a feeling this is long deserved for you and Kim. I'll bet she
is thrilled. The house looks great.

Robert

in 2001, i had a custom house built that came in 3 days under schedule, and
under budget to boot. leon may be the 2nd.

wrote in message
...
Nicely done, Leon!

You may be the first ever to have your house built on time, finished
at the expected date (unless of course, you have Swing build
it..... ;^) ) in good order.

Good for you!

I have a feeling this is long deserved for you and Kim. I'll bet she
is thrilled. The house looks great.

Robert

Thank you Robert, maybe y'all can squeeze a peek while you are down.

On Dec 20, 1:32*pm, "chaniarts" wrote:
wrote:
Nicely done, Leon!

You may be the first ever to have your house built on time, finished
at the expected date (unless of course, you have Swing build
it..... *;^) * * ) in good order.

Good for you!

I have a feeling this is long deserved for you and Kim. *I'll bet she
is thrilled. *The house looks great.

Robert

in 2001, i had a custom house built that came in 3 days under schedule, and
under budget to boot. leon may be the 2nd.

A Texan was visiting Toronto and he was going on and on about the size
of the Astrodome and how quickly they built it. While driving past the
CN tower, he asked the cabbie: "What's that tall tower called?" The
cabbie said: "I don't know, it wasn't here this morning...."

On 12/20/2010 10:45 AM, Rich wrote:

Wow, lots of work! Are the poured columns setting on bedrock? Wondering how
far you have to go down to hit bedrock? I know it will very...

The piers are approximately 22' deep, with 36" bell bottoms, and it was
basically the same clay to that depth, and no telling how much further
to bedrock.

This was about 25 miles East of Austin. .5 miles to the West of Austin
you would hit rock by scuffling your boot real hard ...


--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On Dec 20, 1:55*pm, Swingman wrote:
On 12/20/2010 10:45 AM, Rich wrote:

Wow, lots of work! Are the poured columns setting on bedrock? Wondering how
far you have to go down to hit bedrock? I know it will very...

The piers are approximately 22' deep, with 36" bell bottoms, and it was
basically the same clay to that depth, and no telling how much further
to bedrock.

Wouldn't you still get expansive soils at that depth?

Luigi

Nice good luck on the move.
I hope you can enjoy Christmas with family.

On 12/19/2010 11:19 AM, Leon wrote:
Wellllllll the time has finally come. Kim and I will be doing the final
walk through tomorrow, close on Tuesday, and start the move. Hopefullay we
will not have much left to move by the following Monday. We are renting a
lift gate truck for the shop machinery and the big stuff.

A couple of out side pictures,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb1121...0134/lightbox/

On 12/20/2010 4:50 PM, Luigi Zanasi wrote:
On Dec 20, 1:55 pm, wrote:
On 12/20/2010 10:45 AM, Rich wrote:

Wow, lots of work! Are the poured columns setting on bedrock? Wondering how
far you have to go down to hit bedrock? I know it will very...

The piers are approximately 22' deep, with 36" bell bottoms, and it was
basically the same clay to that depth, and no telling how much further
to bedrock.

Wouldn't you still get expansive soils at that depth?

Basically soil at depth is not necessarily subject to the same effects
of changes due to dry/wet years as at the surface, and/or even
transmitted to the surface to the same extent.

IOW, unless you're drilling for oil, you gotta stop somewhere.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

This is a complex dome or like name foundation. It isn't a slab.

Slabs were solid. The issue with these - they won't hold weight
like in a shop. Oh yea toy shops. But put a mill or grinder or
a big lathe and the slab will crack. The center is to thin.
I've seen 2" centers and only outsides in the shell. Looks like
a slab but put a truck or weight on it and crack.

Martin

On 12/20/2010 9:35 AM, Swingman wrote:
On 12/20/2010 9:15 AM, Rich wrote:
Leon wrote:

May I ask an ignorant question? Does the tension rods eliminate the
need
for rebar? I've never been around when tension rods were used. When the
slab for our last house was poured, they used the channels like yours,
tons of rebar, but no stress rods. It cracked anyway.



I am no expert on the matter however when I took archetectural
drafting in
school the standard was rebar every where. It looked like we were
designing
freeway concrete overpasses. Our current 30 year old house and this
house
use tension cables. After the concrete has had a period of time to cure
but not too long the nuts on the ends of each cable are tightened to a
predetermined torque. To the best of my knowledge this does not acutally
prevent cracks especially surface cracks but it is supposed to
prevent the
seperation of the foundation in the event it cracked all the way
through.
I could see this system used in earthquake prone areas but Texas? Wasn't
aware Texas had earthquake problems or is it Expansive Soils? Seems
like a
lot of work and expense to keep concrete from cracking. Haven't even seen
that systems used in California where I would expect it, with all their
silly regulations on the most minor things.

For both you and Leon:

http://houstonslabfoundations.com/

My house in Northern California was like that - 8' deep
because we were on a slope (near 45 degree). Code was 48".

My curtain walls were not strong foundation like those! Those
look great. I had 18 each 8' dug deep holes.

Good job there.

Martin

On 12/20/2010 10:45 AM, Rich wrote:
Swingman wrote:

On 12/20/2010 9:15 AM, Rich wrote:

I could see this system used in earthquake prone areas but Texas? Wasn't
aware Texas had earthquake problems or is it Expansive Soils?

Indeed, it is ALL about "expansive soils" ...

The tail that wags the dog regarding the types of foundation used in
construction is the "soil report" for the particular foundation's
_location upon which it is built_.

Our soil in this region is mostly expansive clays. The main problem,
simplistically speaking, with this type of soil is periodic "upheaval"
due to a cycle of drought and wet seasons, which puts pressure on the
bottom of the foundation, said pressure from underneath causing
foundation failures.

The best possible foundation for this type of soil is, IMO, a
"structural slab with void space", which alleviates the upheaval
pressure by actually having a void beneath the foundation.

An extreme example of this can be seen in the following foundation I
built last year where the soil required a 12" void space beneath the
grade beams, even though it was a crawl space and not a slab on grade:


http://picasaweb.google.com/karlcail...Ij3svr7nb34fg#

The soil in this area heaved up to six inches depending upon drought
cycles.

These types of foundation are much more expensive than a post tension
slab, the latter which has a high fixability factor in the event of a
foundation failure, and this factor is a valid concept.

As you can see in the previous link posted, many types of foundations
will work in these types of soil, but it boils down to the fact that
tract/volume home builders can play statistical odds on foundation
failures that custom home builders can't readily play when it comes to
choosing a foundation type.

In a nutshell, you ALWAYS let the soil report dictate the type of slab,
and in most cases the builder will have a choice of valid types and
costs from which to choose stated in that report.

With foundations, you make your choices and you take your chances ...

Wow, lots of work! Are the poured columns setting on bedrock? Wondering how
far you have to go down to hit bedrock? I know it will very...

On Mon, 20 Dec 2010 20:49:44 -0600, Swingman wrote:

On 12/20/2010 4:50 PM, Luigi Zanasi wrote:
On Dec 20, 1:55 pm, wrote:
On 12/20/2010 10:45 AM, Rich wrote:

Wow, lots of work! Are the poured columns setting on bedrock? Wondering how
far you have to go down to hit bedrock? I know it will very...

The piers are approximately 22' deep, with 36" bell bottoms, and it was
basically the same clay to that depth, and no telling how much further
to bedrock.

Wouldn't you still get expansive soils at that depth?

Basically soil at depth is not necessarily subject to the same effects
of changes due to dry/wet years as at the surface, and/or even
transmitted to the surface to the same extent.

IOW, unless you're drilling for oil, you gotta stop somewhere.

On some things, you stop drilling at 6 or 8". (Oops, OT.)

--
If the only prayer you ever say in your whole
life is "thank you," that would suffice.
-- Meister Eckhart

On Dec 20, 9:10 pm, Martin Eastburn
wrote:

This is a complex dome or like name foundation. It isn't a slab.

Sure it is. A concrete slab is often referred to as a slab,
regardless if the underlying engineering. The correct name of this
example is "post tension cable slab". I have certainly inspected my
share, as have my engineering buddies.

http://www.posttensionslabs.com/faq.html

They have been around for many years, and I saw them used extensively
as a young man framing houses in the early/mid 70's. There are
literally hundreds of thousands of them around here. IF the are
installed properly, the make a economical, structurally sound
solution.

Slabs were solid. The issue with these - they won't hold weight
like in a shop. Oh yea toy shops. But put a mill or grinder or
a big lathe and the slab will crack. The center is to thin.
I've seen 2" centers and only outsides in the shell. Looks like
a slab but put a truck or weight on it and crack.

Nope. If you saw a post tension cable slab that wouldn't hold weight,
they were probably engineered incorrectly or installed out of
specification requirements. Don't blame slab failure on poor
engineering or poor implementation.

This type of installation is routinely used here in South Texas where
warranted and cost efficient. If you are building in a country town
far away from equipment, engineers, etc., a conventional slab of rebar/
concrete will still be the answer.

Why? A post tension slab carries its own soil compaction requirements,
as well as a study of the substrate to identify its plasticity. This
requires a lot of testing lab time as well as the proper machinery to
compact the pad (usually in lifts) to meet the correct specs.

Here's a great discussion as a reprint from Residential Concrete
magazine:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/2waza8n

It does a nice job discussing loads, use, etc. and should put your
mind at ease to see that installed properly they will carry a great
load.

Note the part where they discuss active or live cracking resistance.
This probably the single largest reason this type of slab construction
is used in most of our town.

Out in the country, all that equipment and trips by engineers to make
sure you have a proper pad and the engineer's papwork to prove it is
cost prohibitive, so they still pour the way they did 150 years ago.
Put twice as much steel in the slab as you need and add more beams to
be safe, then pour the best strength concrete you can afford. It's an
expensive slab.

But that old fashioned style is not needed when equipment, labs,
engineers, etc., are twenty minutes away. That is why post tension is
now used for apartments (some three stories!), heavy duty car parking
lots, and all manner of heavy use slabs of concrete.

But there are two major problems with post tension methodology.

1) the guy that tensions the cables must understand exactly what he is
doing, and how important it is to be accurate when tensioning. This
requires training and someone without ADD. Also, it was found here
after examining sever PT slab failures, that the dogs (wedges) that
hold the cable were damaged by the tensioning crew.

When they have finished tensioning, they let the cables relax for a
day or two, then cut the excess cable off with a torch. It was found
that the poor cutting technique of the cutter (usually a laborer) got
the wedges in the retaining jaws on the cable so hot they lost their
tempering. They teeth became soft, they slipped, and the cable lost
its tension. Nothing but bad after that.

2) You cannot pour complex shapes. Post tension shines on today's
mono-level house slabs, in our post sunken room era. Steps up, steps
down, to sunken rooms, garages, etc., that break up the single or
double plane of a slab make it cost prohibitive to work around the
profile/elevation differences.

Probably more than you ever wanted....

Robert

On 12/20/2010 11:27 PM, wrote:
snip of excellent info

Probably more than you ever wanted....

More than any one, except engineers and builders, would want to know,
and IMO, the definitive guide to foundations in expansive soils:

http://www.foundationperformance.org...PA-SC-01-0.pdf

The parent organization ... guys know their stuff:

http://www.foundationperformance.org/

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On Dec 21, 8:23*am, Swingman wrote:

More than any one, except engineers and builders, would want to know,
and IMO, the definitive guide to foundations in expansive soils:

http://www.foundationperformance.org...PA-SC-01-0.pdf

The parent organization ... guys know their stuff:

http://www.foundationperformance.org/

**Excellent** discussion and drawings. This is a "must have" for me.
I love stuff like that!

BUT.... I can't save the .pdf file. I can print it, but no saving to
disk. I checked the security settings on the pdf itself, and it said
that it isn't protected and could be printed or saved. Apparently not
by me.

Print, yes. Save, no.

Any ideas?

Robert

" wrote in news:002b6097-
:

On Dec 21, 8:23*am, Swingman wrote:

More than any one, except engineers and builders, would want to know,
and IMO, the definitive guide to foundations in expansive soils:

http://www.foundationperformance.org...PA-SC-01-0.pdf

The parent organization ... guys know their stuff:

http://www.foundationperformance.org/

**Excellent** discussion and drawings. This is a "must have" for me.
I love stuff like that!

BUT.... I can't save the .pdf file. I can print it, but no saving to
disk. I checked the security settings on the pdf itself, and it said
that it isn't protected and could be printed or saved. Apparently not
by me.

Print, yes. Save, no.

Any ideas?

Robert


I had no problem saving it. See attached. If it doesn't come through I
can post it to abpw. Sorry, had to yEnc it.

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

wrote in message
...
On Dec 21, 8:23 am, Swingman wrote:

More than any one, except engineers and builders, would want to know,
and IMO, the definitive guide to foundations in expansive soils:

http://www.foundationperformance.org...PA-SC-01-0.pdf

The parent organization ... guys know their stuff:

http://www.foundationperformance.org/

**Excellent** discussion and drawings. This is a "must have" for me.
I love stuff like that!

BUT.... I can't save the .pdf file. I can print it, but no saving to
disk. I checked the security settings on the pdf itself, and it said
that it isn't protected and could be printed or saved. Apparently not
by me.

Print, yes. Save, no.

Any ideas?

What works for me sometimes is to bring the pdf file up to look at it. Then
go to the different save functions on screen.

I don't know how clear that is. It is just that sometimes I can not copy
the file directly. So I display the document on my monitor. THEN I save it
from within the displayed document itself. Most of the time, this works.
And I mean different save functions too. I have had the file/save function
not work. And the little floppy SAVE icon work. No rhyme or reason apparent
here.

There seems to be some kind of strange format protection built into some pdf
documents. You can not copy the files. But you can save the file when
displayed.

Like I said, this works most of the time. There are pdf documents that I
have not been able to save though.

On Dec 21, 6:23*am, Swingman wrote:
On 12/20/2010 11:27 PM, wrote:
snip of excellent info

Probably more than you ever wanted....

More than any one, except engineers and builders, would want to know,
and IMO, the definitive guide to foundations in expansive soils:

http://www.foundationperformance.org...PA-SC-01-0.pdf

The parent organization ... guys know their stuff:

http://www.foundationperformance.org/

Interesting stuff. The heaving is also a problem for building on
permafrost (there is also the thawing issue). One solution for
permafrost is a space frame foundation. See for example one old
article from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation:
ftp://ftp.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/cmhc/90_222.html

Luigi

On Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:33:11 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

On Dec 21, 8:23*am, Swingman wrote:

More than any one, except engineers and builders, would want to know,
and IMO, the definitive guide to foundations in expansive soils:

http://www.foundationperformance.org...PA-SC-01-0.pdf

The parent organization ... guys know their stuff:

http://www.foundationperformance.org/

**Excellent** discussion and drawings. This is a "must have" for me.
I love stuff like that!

BUT.... I can't save the .pdf file. I can print it, but no saving to
disk. I checked the security settings on the pdf itself, and it said
that it isn't protected and could be printed or saved. Apparently not
by me.

Print, yes. Save, no.

Any ideas?

It saved OK for me, Naily. Did you click on the little disk icon in
the Acrobat Reader window, or try to save with the browser? The
browser will fail every time, I think. BTDT, got the tee.


--
If the only prayer you ever say in your whole
life is "thank you," that would suffice.
-- Meister Eckhart

On Dec 21, 5:07*pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:

It saved OK for me, Naily. Did you click on the little disk icon in
the Acrobat Reader window, or try to save with the browser? *The
browser will fail every time, I think. *BTDT, got the tee.

Thanks, guys. I have no idea what is going on.

I am at another computer now, and it saved perfectly. Off it goes to
a labeled archive CD for future reference.

Ain't technology wonderful? Thanks to all that tried to help.

Robert

On Dec 21, 5:07*pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:

It saved OK for me, Naily. Did you click on the little disk icon in
the Acrobat Reader window, or try to save with the browser? *The
browser will fail every time, I think. *BTDT, got the tee.

AHA! A clue....

I am back at my own computer now, and there is no disk icon to save.

However, Sr. Jaques, I tried saving with the browser, **and it didn't
fail**, it worked perfectly.

Personally, I have never had the browser work like that. But (using
Firefox) I clicked on *file* then *save page as* and it worked like a
champ.

Like I said, that trick hasn't worked in years, but in a moment of
desperation I tried it after reading your post.

The hell of it all is that I keep Adobe updated as I have had problems
in the past with it when I didn't. Some of my more professional
friends send me pdfs with all kinds of embeds, and without the newest
version of the reader you can't always read or open the files.

Hell.... I got nothin'.

Robert