Trivial but...

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jmellc

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Durham, NC
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Facility Maintenance Tech. Licensed Electrician
Is there an item you would rather get for yourself because others just don’t get it right?

One of mine is screws. Maybe we need screws to mount something on thin sheet metal, need pointed screws. Wood surface, pointed screws. Someone always comes back with teks. Need teks for heavier metal, they bring pointed. Send someone to the store & same thing. Go to the trouble of explaining details about why we need a particular thing & to no avail. Need Phillips head bolts for a tight space & someone brings hex head. No room in space for a nutdriver or socket. Not to mention higher cost.
 
🤔 I reread the OP and you are correct, there was no specific mention of these items being restricted to electrical items 😇

Concrete: I always specify a mix with mid range water reducer or plasticizer. Without, it will have too much water and thus, shrink more, have less strength, dust more, and be more permeable.
 
electrofelon said:
🤔 I reread the OP and you are correct, there was no specific mention of these items being restricted to electrical items 😇

Concrete: I always specify a mix with mid range water reducer or plasticizer. Without, it will have too much water and thus, shrink more, have less strength, dust more, and be more permeable.
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How did the Roman's ever manage to build those aqueducts without platicizer? What about the Hoover Dam?
 
electrofelon said:
🤔 I reread the OP and you are correct, there was no specific mention of these items being restricted to electrical items 😇

Concrete: I always specify a mix with mid range water reducer or plasticizer. Without, it will have too much water and thus, shrink more, have less strength, dust more, and be more permeable.
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I would likely mess this up. I’ve only done concrete to set posts or cover pipe in a ditch. I don’t know much about it for specific jobs. I’d be calling you on FaceTime to show what the store has.
 
ActionDave said:
... What about the Hoover Dam?
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I don't know about the chemistry they were using, but they were meticulous about their aggregate, precisely batching large cobbles, small cobbles, ballast rock, coarse gravel, and fine gravel. And everything was carefully washed first, to remove fines and organics. If I recall correctly, their mix was just 3% sand and 2% cement. The result was at least 3500 psi, in part due to the very thin lines of cement between the aggregates.

If you've never been there, I definitely recommend it. (once it's safe to travel again) Whatever project you're currently working on, it'll look small and simple in comparison. Be sure to shell out the few extra bucks and take the dam tour.

Until then, you can watch the dam movie while quarantining at home.

 
drcampbell said:
I don't know about the chemistry they were using, but they were meticulous about their aggregate, precisely batching large cobbles, small cobbles, ballast rock, coarse gravel, and fine gravel. And everything was carefully washed first, to remove fines and organics. If I recall correctly, their mix was just 3% sand and 2% cement. The result was at least 3500 psi, in part due to the very thin lines of cement between the aggregates.

If you've never been there, I definitely recommend it. (once it's safe to travel again) Whatever project you're currently working on, it'll look small and simple in comparison. Be sure to shell out the few extra bucks and take the dam tour.

Until then, you can watch the dam movie while quarantining at home.

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How much plastisizer did they use is the critical question at this moment.
 
drcampbell said:
I don't know about the chemistry they were using, but they were meticulous about their aggregate, precisely batching large cobbles, small cobbles, ballast rock, coarse gravel, and fine gravel. And everything was carefully washed first, to remove fines and organics. If I recall correctly, their mix was just 3% sand and 2% cement. The result was at least 3500 psi, in part due to the very thin lines of cement between the aggregates.

If you've never been there, I definitely recommend it. (once it's safe to travel again) Whatever project you're currently working on, it'll look small and simple in comparison. Be sure to shell out the few extra bucks and take the dam tour.

Until then, you can watch the dam movie while quarantining at home.

Click to expand...
I've been involved in several high dollar projects, I would love to talk to the guys that actually did the hands on work and find out how close those guidelines were actually obeyed.
 
If you give any person a list of things to buy (or get out of a material trailer) at least a few will be wrong. In many cases, the list writer is just as culpable as the list reader.
 
ActionDave said:
I've been involved in several high dollar projects, I would love to talk to the guys that actually did the hands on work and find out how close those guidelines were actually obeyed.
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From your experience is it uncommon that extremely detailed guidelines get followed to the T, even on large scale projects?
 
ActionDave said:
How did the Roman's ever manage to build those aqueducts without platicizer? What about the Hoover Dam?
Click to expand...

I learned a lot about concrete when I got into ICF construction. There, you need very flowable concrete. There is an ideal water cement ratio and to get the workability needed for even non ICF applications, you will have your use excess water. It's a fun experiment to mix a bag of concrete mix per the instructions and see what you get. Yes certainly most things won't fall down without a water reducing admixture, but for $30 more dollars on a $1100 truck of concrete, it seem like a no brainier to me. Ever swept a concrete slab and no matter how much you sweep you keep sweeping dust. That's dusting and is caused by too much water in the mix. Excess water also causes more shrinkage which puts more stress on the slab and makes it more likely to crack.
 
jmellc said:
Is there an item you would rather get for yourself because others just don’t get it right?

One of mine is screws. Maybe we need screws to mount something on thin sheet metal, need pointed screws. Wood surface, pointed screws. Someone always comes back with teks. Need teks for heavier metal, they bring pointed. Send someone to the store & same thing. Go to the trouble of explaining details about why we need a particular thing & to no avail. Need Phillips head bolts for a tight space & someone brings hex head. No room in space for a nutdriver or socket. Not to mention higher cost.
Click to expand...
Why not Torx instead of Phillips?
 
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