My concrete man always guaranteed 2 things. First, the concrete would get hard, and second, it would crack. He told me when pouring pads for my trailer in between marriages that if it didn't crack he would drive his concrete hauler back and drive over it, to make sure that it did crack. The concrete was just for runners under the 2 places that they were needed. I ended up using septic tank lids as the places to place the posts made from the concrete on, keeping the holes up + down, with the holes lined up so they are not exposed, to keep rodent behavior away. I dug my hole for the septic tank, the drain field and the well pit, plus drove the well by hand. The hole for the tank is the size of burying a full size car.The drain field is just as big of an undertaking. Counting the 2 acres in the country, and I mean really the country, the trailer, pump and plumbing parts, plus a well pit and a couple hundred for a power pole that I was able to do by myself, the whole thing was a bit over $5,000, with the land coming in at $500 and the trailer was around $1350 delivered. It is hard to remember but I think that the power pole was $1200 in total I learned long before the project to take my time and do things right. Plus have the right tools.needed for the job. I bought several new tool during that project, and I don't regret it, even though I have not used some of them in over 30 years. But using the proper tool where needed, it makes the job go so much better, and it is easier to get the results you want.
Concrete will always crack, once it exceeds a certain dimension for the depth.....that is why you hear those bumps when you ride down a concrete road, as the prediction of where the concrete will crack is sawed in straight lines to make it crack uniformly in order to seal the crack to keep debris out....hope this helps....
I've seen "paper beats rock" before. Did a job near Kyburz. There was a rock as big as a two story house with a Live Oak tree two feet in diameter growing right out of the top of it. The rock had a small split in it that provided just enough sustenance to allow that tree to grow that big. It was a nice looking tree, too, which Live Oaks usually aren't.
My personal observation is that Live Oaks like granite. They seem to grow up near it, for some reason. At least the Live Oaks near me do. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
In many places out west, saplings start in any crack in a large rock that can accumulate a few ounces of soil and has a windblown tree seed land. As it grows, the tree exerts pressure on the rock, enlarging the crack just enough to allow it to keep growing. So when you get up in the hills, there are many trees growing from rock outcroppings. Limited water makes them grow slowly, but they survive even multi-year droughts somehow and grow when some rainwater catches in the crack. It's so common to see trees growing from rock that there must be some way that the rock protects the tree.
My concrete man always guaranteed 2 things.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the concrete would get hard, and second, it would crack.
He told me when pouring pads for my trailer in between marriages that if it didn't crack he would drive his concrete hauler back and drive over it, to make sure that it did crack.
The concrete was just for runners under the 2 places that they were needed.
I ended up using septic tank lids as the places to place the posts made from the concrete on, keeping the holes up + down,
with the holes lined up so they are not exposed, to keep rodent behavior away.
I dug my hole for the septic tank, the drain field and the well pit, plus drove the well by hand.
The hole for the tank is the size of burying a full size car.The drain field is just as big of an undertaking.
Counting the 2 acres in the country, and I mean really the country, the trailer, pump and plumbing parts, plus a well pit and a couple hundred for a power pole that I was able to do by myself, the whole thing was a bit over $5,000, with the land coming in at $500 and the trailer was around $1350 delivered. It is hard to remember but I think that the power pole was $1200 in total
I learned long before the project to take my time and do things right. Plus have the right tools.needed for the job. I bought several new tool during that project, and I don't regret it, even though I have not used some of them in over 30 years.
But using the proper tool where needed, it makes the job go so much better, and it is easier to get the results you want.
Concrete will always crack, once it exceeds a certain dimension for the depth.....that is why you hear those bumps when you ride down a concrete road, as the prediction of where the concrete will crack is sawed in straight lines to make it crack uniformly in order to seal the crack to keep debris out....hope this helps....
DeleteYeah...those are called 'control joints' and any slab over about 15 feet square needs one.
DeleteI've seen "paper beats rock" before. Did a job near Kyburz. There was a rock as big as a two story house with a Live Oak tree two feet in diameter growing right out of the top of it. The rock had a small split in it that provided just enough sustenance to allow that tree to grow that big. It was a nice looking tree, too, which Live Oaks usually aren't.
ReplyDeleteMy personal observation is that Live Oaks like granite. They seem to grow up near it, for some reason. At least the Live Oaks near me do.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
They're lovin' the limestone down here in South Texas.
DeleteYosemite. Above Nevada Falls.
ReplyDeleteIn many places out west, saplings start in any crack in a large rock that can accumulate a few ounces of soil and has a windblown tree seed land. As it grows, the tree exerts pressure on the rock, enlarging the crack just enough to allow it to keep growing. So when you get up in the hills, there are many trees growing from rock outcroppings. Limited water makes them grow slowly, but they survive even multi-year droughts somehow and grow when some rainwater catches in the crack. It's so common to see trees growing from rock that there must be some way that the rock protects the tree.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure one day Kenny will post something you're not an expert in.
Delete