posted
I rented one of those "mini excavators" for a day. Picked it up at 9:10 pm Monday night at Home Depot in Dothan, AL, hauled it to Wausau. Tuesday morning at 6am, I dug a 20' x 4' x 3' ditch at the house, loaded it back up, hauled it to the shop near Chipley, dug the foundation for my sign and another 20' ditch. then spread out a dirt pile left over from my metal building's construction. PawPaw wanted a stump dug up and his "burn pit" dug out so I did that too. About 4pm my bro-in-law wanted a 40' ditch dug and about halfway through my Wife called and wanted a ditch for a buried electrical cable between the barn and the sheep pens so I loaded it back on the trailer and hauled it back home. That project ended up being 2'x2'x150' ditch which was done in less than an hour. I barely got the thing washed, loaded up, drove by the station, refilled it with Diesel and had it back to Home Depot by 9:15pm (there was a 30 minute grace period). I honestly didn't think that little thing could dig even half the stuff it did. A Kubota U17.....I want one.
The excavation for the monument sign... The partially assembled concrete form... More to come. I'm not done for the day....
[ June 24, 2016, 01:28 PM: Message edited by: Wayne Webb ]
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7403 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Probably the best employee I ever had was a lover of snakes and there were always a few venomous and non venomous around in various cages he'd built. Once, we rented a trencher for replacing some water lines. A sign painter came by to visit, saw the excavations and jokingly said, "I thought maybe some of Billy's snakes had died!"
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
Wayne - that's hilarious!! Anytime you rent a good piece of equipmemt everyone comes out of the wood-work to finally get that 'thing' done . . .
If everyone will pitch in the rental fee you only pay a fraction of the cost!!
LOL - do NOT own one!! Everyone and their cousin will wanna 'borrow' it!!
I had the opposite experience lately -my yard is about a foot higher than ny neighbor's on each side of me. When it rains hard, my yard still holds a little - but theirs look look like lakes. I mentioned splitting the rent 2 or 3 ways on a (hand-held) ditch-digger. No takers.
Another freind rented one recently - offered my neigbors again - the rent fee split 4 ways - only $25!! To get a ditch that will prevent their yards from flooding and help water run off my yard faster - NO takers.
I guess they are waiting to get a free ditch magically dug.
I've been here 16 years and telling them they need these for 15 years - Every time they complain about how their yards are so low and look like lakes after a hard rain.
Waaaaa-yuh.
I give up trying to explain the purpose of a ditch to them which is a lot cheaper than bringing in dirt to build up their yards.
Anyway Wayne - good start - I can see by your foundation you do not want that sign to blow over!!
posted
Nice piece of equipment and a nice start to your monument sign.
Speaking of snakes I just found a big bull snake in the garden...they are not dangerous but are known for putting on quit a dramatic display when confronted and this guy didn't disappoint...he initially sucked in a lot of air then raised up and spread out like a cobra looking very menacing...when that defensive bluff didn't work on us he went into a circular rolling motion that ended with the snake laying upside down motionless with mouth open and tongue hanging out playing dead...many people kill every snake they encounter...most snakes are not venomous and are beneficial to the eco system...learn to positively identify those dangerous snakes and let the others live...that's what we did with this guy...some of you might know this snake as a puff adder or spread adder...he was pretty magnificent.
Yes - most snakes are our friends! They take care of the mice in the field behind my house so I let all but rattlers go free. Not near water So cotton mouths aren't a problem.
I also let (most) spiders, frogs, and lizards have free reign all round because they take care of bugs!!
I go kinda crazy if someone kills the big spiders or handles the frogs - I have one BIG frog - kinda has a little reddish tint - His name is RedFrog (like the movie Red Dog) - he arrived every spring and has access to the shop via a small hole - he eats his weight in bugs!! I keep one small light on in my paintroom 24-7 - just enough light to draw more bugs than usual - but bugs abound regardless.
Every spring and throughouty summer if I'm moving around after dark I watch carefully when pullin' in the carport, and walking thru the breezeway between the house and shop, and when going from house to shop bc he will be around. I'm so afraid I'll step on him!!
My dog even loves that frog and will give him a little lick.
I don't even mind the rather large turds RedFrog leaves around - they are composed entirely of dead bugs!!
posted
I found these two Pine Snakes having a little orgy in the grass at my shop. They were pretty involved as they didn't seem bothered at all by my presence. They are harmless and eat wood ticks. Hope they had a large family.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5396 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
One more cool animal story...this one is an itsy bitsy spider story...we have a night light plugged into a bathroom vanity outlet located a few inches above the counter top...a little spider built a web right under the night light...actually she had partially attached her web to it...she would catch the little gnats and flying critters that got into the house... they were particularly attracted to the bathroom night light at night when all other lights were turned off in the house...being located where it was made it easy to keep a daily track on how her web strategy was working...I noticed that about every 2 or 3 days I would have to clean off tiny little particles which would accumulate on the counter top just under the night light...I assumed these to be the unconsumed exoskeletons of her prey...I watched her for maybe 3 or 4 months before she came up missing one day...don't know what ever happened to her but for those months that she lived under our bathroom night light...she had made a really good living for a spider.
posted
We have only 5 flavors of poisonous snakes here; diamondbacks, pygmy rattlers, cottonmouths, copperheads and coral snakes. I can identify them all and usually only 'euthanize' these. But I once found this rat snake(called 'white oak' snakes around here) in my barn and as I proceeded to capture it holding it behind the head, to release it in the woods as I normally do, this particular serpent managed to wriggle his head around and bite me on a finger leaving two neat rows of bloody holes. Forgive me but my knee jerk reaction did not go well for the snake, it shook me up pretty bad, I didn't pick up any snakes for a long while, and that's all I'll say about that. Sorry. Here is a clip of me petting one of my sheep just last week; hope that makes us feel better..... https://www.facebook.com/millstonefarm85/videos/1228365877196210/
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7403 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
No need to apologize Wayne...some of those nonvenomous snakes are very aggressive...I don't like handling those big aggressive snakes and stay away them for that very reason...they can bite...I've yet to see a poisonous snake in my neck of the woods but the neighbor on the next ridge over was bitten by a copperhead...his hospital bill was something like $64,000...over the years he claims to have killed 5 or 6 copperheads on his ridge...he was bitten at night walking in sandals...we are in the woods and not far from him so we always try to use a flashlight when walking at night.
posted
Billy and I used to answer calls from the various cities around here and remove snakes from garages, etc. We'd relocate all, venemous or not. A rattler will eat a couple hundred mice a year. I've caught rattlesnakes by grabbing them by the tail as they slithered away. However, once they coil up and "assume the position", I lose all interest in reaching in to grab them by the tail!
[ June 27, 2016, 12:01 AM: Message edited by: David Harding ]
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
Framing all done, rebar installed, tension wires installed between the sides to ensure it doesn't blow apart from the weight and pressure. It didn't so I can breathe a sigh of relief; but after 3 hours of working 9.5 yds of concrete from 12pm to 3pm in the hot/humid Florida climate, I am whipped.
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7403 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks David, I have to wait at least 7 days now, or maybe 28 for the concrete to cure. The forms will be left on, wet-down and covered with plastic until then. So I'll do another project for awhile. Need some more sign work.
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7403 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Curing the concrete makes it stronger and less liable to crack. Here I'm using plastic sheeting to hold moisture in and keep it from drying out too quickly. Not sure when I can begin laying block but it's supposed to be practically cured in 28 days.
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7403 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
| IP: Logged |
The last "job" I had before starting my business was General Supervisor for a company that poured foundations for large steel tanks. With a chunk that size, and the amount of block you are going to use, I would wait at least 14 days before laying block. Up to 18" deep on a slab that size 7 days would be plenty, but you have a lot of depth, and it will take a little longer to cure through.
I would take the plastic off and hit it with a water hose a couple of times a day until the day before you start laying block. I would also go ahead and wreck the forms so you can wet the entire slab.
FYI... Concrete continues to cure for 80 years, then it starts to deteriorate at about the same rate.
-------------------- Don Hulsey Strokes by DON signs Utica, KY 270-275-9552 sbdsigns@aol.com
I've always been crazy... but it's kept me from going insane. Posts: 2274 | From: Utica, KY U.S.A. | Registered: Jan 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
We've built a lot of big things through the years and poured many thousands of cubic yards of concrete. I suspect this hasn't been engineered as you don't have a lot of rebar in your footing and the way you cross your bar (with minimal overlap) isn't what we would normally see. But it should be plenty strong based on what is going on top.
We've always begun the block work the next day - on occasion if the footing is poured early in the morning we've begin laying blocks the same day. Typically, you don't lay more than three or four courses of block in a day and the isn't much of a load for concrete.
Wetting down concrete to help it cure is always a good idea.
This is one extremely large footing for a sign as there won't be any real weight of serious forces there based on what I've seen of your design.
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
There are a couple of reasons for the big footing; We are located in a 125 mph wind zone and the sign is approx. 123 sqft which makes the potential wind load on this structure around 3500 lbs. Second reason, is the above ground part of the pouring is a pedestal and I decided to just pour that part along with the footing instead of laying blocks.. Third reason; I was having so much fun with the mini excavator that I got a little carried away. But it shouldn't tip over from a 125mph wind with that much concrete in the hole, along with the ground pressure.
The monolithic footing/pedestal should weigh approx. 36,000 lbs and the block structure with cultured stone facings and HDU elements should be around 10,000. Even at that, it's well within limits on weight because the load bearing capacity of clay/sand soil is between 1500 and 2000 psf and this thing is less than 900.
No this isn't engineer stamped. I could get away with that since it's a DIY on our own property. But if I were doing it for a customer, I would hire the engineer and a contractor to build it. I wish I had known about that rebar overlap though, Dan; I sure would have done it.
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7403 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Wayne, you didn't have to have a footing inspection prior to pouring the concrete? The city makes us call for a footer inspection on any size monument type sign, regardless of who builds it and where it's located. We recently did a 4'high x6' x 6" PVC monument sign and had to have a footer inspection (among other things). I kid you not, the permitting cost twice as much as the sign - it was located in a historic overlay district.
-------------------- Jean Shimp Shimp Sign & Design Co. Jacksonville Beach, Fl Posts: 1266 | From: Jacksonville Beach, Fl. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Applause]](graemlins/applause.gif)
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic