Under Construction

The Foundation, Part I

Because of the slope and unstable fill, I couldn't use the traditional foundation consisting of a continuous footing and stem wall. Instead I used a modified post-and-beam foundation, with steel I-beams in place of wood timbers. This created several challenges. To insure that the holes didn't collapse as we dug them I placed and levelled 36" diameter SonoTubes (reinforced paper tubing) once Lonnie had cleared his equipment. Such huge piers required reinforcement in the form of steel cages.

I built the steel cages for each hole; the cages had 30 vertical rods bound together by two steel hoops per foot of length. You've seen a freeway overpass under construction--you get the idea.

I fastened the steel rods to the hoops using strips of tie-wire and my old lineman's pliers. Despite my gloves I still acquired a variety of interesting blisters.

Some of the cages weighed in at over five-hundred pounds and stood ten feet tall. I called a crane to help me raise and set the cages; Mike turned out to be far more help than I bargained for.

Since the steel can't be in contact with the earth due to fear of rusting, I drove three coated steel rods into the bottom of each hole using a spare hoop as a guide. After Mike lowered a cage into the hole to its proper depth I'd fasten the cage to the three rods using large cable bolts. This kept the cages centred in the holes and well off the ground.