a different way to chair duct banks....

[Fulthrotl]

chairs aren't all that cheap,
these are fast, and sixty cents each....

just finished a 14 hour day on a bobcat, backfilling a 5' deep ditch between a building and a block wall...
4' wide overall, had a 3' bobcat.

scoop of sand, dump, back out, scoop of sand, back up a bit farther, scoop of sand... back up a bit farther....
figured out i drove that nasty little piece of equipment a little over three miles backwards today.

good news. wet sand in a pile doesn't need to be hosed down to get 90%, as it's already soaked.
bad news. wet sand is heavy. tipped over the bobcat twice... nose dives.

three flat tires on rental bobcat today. started at 6am, finished at 8 pm. time for bed.

 

[jusme123]

how much are the chairs?

 

[jumper]

Cool idea.:thumbsup:

 

[JJWalecka]

Think I like the idea.
What did the AHJ have to say about em?

 

[Fulthrotl]

Think I like the idea.
What did the AHJ have to say about em?

he liked the idea, the material isn't any different
that putting dobie's under rebar in a slab....

i'd like to say i thought of it, but i didn't...
there is an underground contractor on the
job i'm on that saw it somewhere and liked it.

the only thing i'm having a problem with is i'm
a fan of "glue it up and kick it in the ditch"
technology, and that doesn't work so well here.

 

[Cow]

Cool idea. I didn't realize cinder blocks were that cheap. I would of guessed a couple dollars apiece....

Looks like your pipe came out nice and straight too!!

On a sidenote I'm always surprised when I see you post pics like this. Some of these look to be pretty good sized jobs, considering your a one man show and all. I figured all the guys running solo mostly did small projects, service work and the like. I know it takes quite a bit of creativity to get stuff done sometimes when you're by yourself. Can't imagine doing that ALL the time.

 

[mkgrady]

What is the point of the chairs if you are not using concrete to form a ductbank?

You backfill your own trenches?? Do you also dig them?

 

[Fulthrotl]

What is the point of the chairs if you are not using concrete
to form a ductbank?

You backfill your own trenches?? Do you also dig them?

not if i don't have to... the trench up there was done by the sewer
and underground utilities guys.... nice folks....

i don't dig my own trenches, beyond what a ditch witch will do.
the reason i ended up backfilling this one was lack of CLEAR
wording on an extra... my stupid.... and i coulda pumped it with one sack
sand slurry, but by the time i figured two trucks of mud, a pumper,
and some guys to tend the hose, or a crane pumper that'll place it
without a crew, versus me and a bobcat for a day.... saving it's the
same as earning it...

the trench with the cinder blocks got filled with 2,500# concrete.

 

[Fulthrotl]

Cool idea. I didn't realize cinder blocks were that cheap. I would of guessed a couple dollars apiece....

Looks like your pipe came out nice and straight too!!

On a sidenote I'm always surprised when I see you post pics like this. Some of these look to be pretty good sized jobs, considering your a one man show and all. I figured all the guys running solo mostly did small projects, service work and the like. I know it takes quite a bit of creativity to get stuff done sometimes when you're by yourself. Can't imagine doing that ALL the time.

well, it wasn't my pipe, but yeah, they do nice work.

biggest single think i've done solo is about $200k, and lasted
5 months or so, off and on. i've always tended to smaller jobs
when working for other folks, as well... this one is three months
or so, and with the data and other extras, about $85k, i think..
started off at $53k.

largest thing i've had a hand in designing for someone else,
was the field engineering for san bernadino county medical center,
the electrical on that was just under $70 M.

http://bit.ly/VzZMMx

the building has over 200 shock absorbers 14' feet long,
and can move freely 2' in every direction, to resist earthquakes.
main building is a city block square, built on a radius, with
no parallell structural steel.. all done like spokes in a wheel,
on a 300' radius....

it was an interesting thing to detail....