Building a Bridge - Construction Part 3 - The Foundation - Where It Starts

I started on this series of posts, reached this point months ago, and found myself writing way too much about the minute details. I erased it all the other day, and started over. 

The bridge starts at the bottom. The bottom may be hundreds of feet below the surface, or right on top of rock. The design starts at this point, and expertise of geologists, and soil engineers, is necessary. At this point, the most important consideration is whether what's available can handle the load. 

The foundation of a bridge has to handle the dynamic load. The dynamic load is the dead weight, and the forces that will act on the final structure. The dead weight is determined by the culmination of all materials that will be placed, but that weight can't be calculated until all the required components are known. The final weight can't be determined until the required components are known, which can't be calculated until what will support the bridge is known, and all the forces that will act on the bridge are known. 

The final components are determined by theoretical design considerations, which require an understanding of what's available to support the bridge. That's first determined by knowing about what the bridge will rest on. Is their rock? If not, what type of soil is available? Is the available rock stable? Will the soil support the bridge with piling?

Bedrock can support a tremendous amount of weight, but the thickness of the rock, the amount of fissures, and the type determine the design. Geologists are consulted, and if necessary, samples are examined from drilled holes. After examination, the foundation may be secured by drilling dowels into the bedrock, or some rock may require removal to reach more stable rock underneath. 

Without rock, the soil determines the type of support. Some soil only requires driving piling to the point the friction against the soil is enough to support the structure. Other soils may require drilling down to a subsurface strata that can support the load, and filling the hole with reinforcing steel with poured in place concrete. That, or the instability of sand may require "water jetting" concrete piling with a hollow tube in the middle to a depth that will allow the soil friction to support the load. In some situations, the soil will support the bridge and the only thing to do is to spread the load with a spread footing. A spread footing can last the life of the bridge, or when certain conditions exist, a hundred year flood can lead to scouring, which erodes under the footing, and the bridge is compromised. 

Regardless of the method for the foundation, laying out the location can be an onerous task. Optical instruments have lessened the work, but arriving at control points may be as simple as walking with a trap on the end of pole, to spud barges, large tugs, and fighting a current to place sheet piling for a cofferdam around the future foundation, and the control points on the bottom of a body of water. The locations are critical, since all design loads are done on theoretical points on the final structure. Obstructions, locations errors, or broken piling can lead to construction stopping and new design parameters. Whether a single piling, or clusters of piling to handle larger structures, this is the point where the engineer representative calculates the bearing, if the piling is driven, and watches to ensure the contractor doesn't stop driving piling before it reaches bearing. 

Bearing is the amount of blows by a piling hammer. The weight of the hammer is calculated before driving, and may have been determined by driving test piling. The hammer may be a large single cylinder diesel engine that uses the explosion of the diesel to blow the piston upward, which causes an equal amount of force pushing downward on the pile, or a hydraulic ram, which accomplishes the same purpose. Bearing is achieved when the number of blows to drive a foot of the piling below the surface match known quantities for blows, to what is known as bearing, or "refusal". Refusal is when a piling is driven for a minute, and it doesn't go down any further, or the amount is less than an inch. This can be a disaster for a pile driver. If the engineer representative doesn't agree with the contractor, demands to keep driving, and the piling breaks, engineering design changes, extra costs, and possible shut-downs can lead to angry words, with resentment. I've seen this happen, and the project rep was wrong.

 Not achieving bearing requires adding to the piling, and driving again. On concrete piling, breaking the top of the concrete piling, adding an exact section with rebar, and concrete. On steel piling, welding a section is required. The welds are x-rayed for determining if the amount of porosity is within acceptable limits. Welds that fail are removed with arc-gouging, and/or grinding, then welded again.

Another aspect of piling is one I experienced on a project. The piling reached refusal about 7 feet above the final grade. The excess piling had to be removed. In that situation, the piling was 18 inches square pre-stressed concrete. The stressed cables prevented using a concrete saw, since releasing the tension can have disastrous results for the saw operator. We tried breaking the concrete with hand-held concrete breakers, since the pilings were above the water, and there was no access with larger breakers. That was taking to long. The final outcome was renting a machine that sheared the piles. It was expensive, but the time, with labor, and the cost of a piling crew shut down, was lower than the other method. 

After the basic part of the foundations are designed, such as pilings, manipulated rock, or spread footings, and the lowest foundation is finished, the next step can be as simple as leaving piling above the surface to the final elevation of the caps, or placing reinforced concrete with protruding dowels for the columns. The concrete is usually placed around clusters of piling, and the amount can be tremendous. Whether at ground level, or dozens of feet below the surface, the next step is building up, whether it's poured in place concrete, or pre-cast sections. That requires another post. 

Schedules and Other Money Grifts

Later in my construction career, schedules were required on TxDot projects, had to be in a format that conveniently allowed a software company to make money, and required someone to be paid to assemble the schedule. None were extremely accurate, most were impossibly optimistic, and the only people I found that were impressed were those that created the schedules, or were being paid to update the wish list. 

I don't like construction schedules. They take away resources better used for increasing the black ink summaries at the bottom of the leger, and take give bureaucrats more ammunition to snipe at contractors, when weather events cause delays. A good project manager has the information needed to complete a project in the shortest period of time, and doesn't need bean counters, or bureaucrats, to remind them of how those that push the paper are generally ignorant of the really important things. Schedules don't replace experience, or knowledge. They only give paper pushers more paper to push back and forth across their desks as they spend most of their time surfing the internet.  

Watching, and Waiting is a Waste of Time

 Federal laws describe the offense of misappropriation of funds. From what little the Communist media is allowing through, there are dozens that are not only guilty, there is absolutely no defense for their crimes. An honest, and aggressive U.S. Attorney wouldn't hesitate to prosecute, but where the worst of the fraud happens, the Federal officials are just as dirty as the criminals. Waiting for something to happen is a waste of time. 

**spit**

I'm Sure It Can Be Fun

I've watched curling on television. I'm thinking some of the viewing was Olympic events, and maybe on the old ABC Wide World of Sports. It looks like it can be fun, and the closest thing I've ever done that is similar is "corn hole", which is played with bean bags, and slanted boards with holes, although it's much warmer of a game, brooms aren't allowed, and there's little danger of falling on ice.

From what little snippets of news I've seen, there is some type of alleged cheating in the Olympics by curlers. I'm not sure what the cheating involves (And I'm not really that interested to research the articles), but the best solution is to have them fight it out. Let them brawl on the ice, serve beer to the spectators, and give the winners a banquet. Serve smoked brisket, potato salad, ranch style beans, and coleslaw. Invite the losers, and nobody give them a hard time. 

It's Not Great

There's some proclaiming that the economy is doing great. It's not. So much wealth was stolen over the last few year that the aggregate loss has hit U.S. citizens hard, and regardless of hype, there is no method to repair the losses in sight. While some are receiving raises, and others are making acquiring wealth from investments, those that were hurt hard by the Covid debacle are now suffering from the ridiculous economic policies from the last administration. Is there a cure? Of course, but it requires the government drastically cutting expenditures, hard line actions on corruption, and removal of all public funds from anyone, or company, that isn't owned by United States citizens.  

Oil Change and Tire Rotation

 Today I'll have the oil changed in the car, and the tires rotated. It's an occasional task, and it makes me think of today's costs. 

When I first started owning vehicles, the largest tires were 15 inch tires, and many of the vehicles I owned had 13, or 14, inch tires. They seemed to work well. That, and disc brakes were not common, nor anti-lock brakes. I don't know what the stopping distances were in comparison to vehicles today, but like anything, adjustments were made for what was available. I knew the limitations of the vehicle, and compensated for the limitation. Whether that's really that important today doesn't seem to be something so demanded, but I do know the larger tires are more expensive, and the electronics involved in brakes has increased the cost of vehicles. 

Oils have come a long way since I started driving. With the additives, and synthetics, oils don't break down like they once did. Where an oil change was demanded at 3000 miles in the past, the oils today can still have full lubricating qualities up to 15,000 miles. While I was working, we had a synthetic oil on one of our vehicles tested over time. The synthetic in the diesel truck we tested didn't show any degradation in performance until around 17,000 miles. 

Times change, and many of the changes are good. Where a vehicle in the past was basically shot at 100,000 miles, with good care and maintenance, some are still dependable at 300,000 miles. I know car companies would rather people buy more often, but with vehicles costing a substantial amount of a new homes, people just don't have the money and want to wait as long as possible before buying new.

It Will Require Some Work

Yesterday, after I awoke, my wife told me the microwave stopped working. A quick glance showed it had no power, since the clock was dark. My first though was to check the breaker. It was tripped, I reset it, and went to check the microwave. The clock was working. The light was working. The exhaust fan was working. I pushed the start button, and was rewarded with a low pop, and the clock went dark. 

I went back to check the breaker. It was thrown, so I reset it, and went back to survey the task now needing to be done. Examining the cabinet above the microwave showed some basic information on replacing the microwave. A little internet searching revealed how they're mounted above a stove, how much a new one would cost, and me thinking about the future. 

A new microwave that mounts above a range, and has an exhaust fan, isn't inexpensive, and considering the fact they don't last more than 10 years, I decided to remove the microwave, replace it with a range hood, and buy a microwave to place on the counter. Two things determined my decision: the cost of the new microwave, and the fact I didn't want to wrestle with the same problem in a few years, when I'll be older, weaker, and definitely have less patience, or strength. My wife agreed. 

So, we went and found a range hood, and a new smaller microwave for the counter. The range hood will probably last longer than we will, and the smaller microwave fits our use much better. We only thaw, or warm small items, and never cook anything large in a microwave. The range hood will move more air, which will be better than the low volume of the microwave/range hood soon to be in the trash. 

I'll soon tackle this task, and pray the duct work won't be challenging. That, and wrestling the heavy microwave from under the cabinet won't lead to smashed fingers, or dropping it on my foot. It shouldn't take too long, but I'm thinking there will be at least one trip for some hardware. 

It's done. With the help of my wife, and my sister-in-law, we tackled the project. My sister-in-law did the same thing a few years ago, so her experience, and foil tape were most helpful. 

The thing that worried me most was the lifting the old microwave out from under the cabinet. As it turned out, I rested it on my shoulder, when I lifted it from the wall bracket, and was deposited outside for disposal.

Taking Down Some Trees

 A neighbor had a huge pine tree struck by lightning last Summer. Concerned by its proximity to power lines, he contacted the co-op, and they agreed it was something they needed to address. They arrived this morning to take down the tree. 

The crew knew what they were doing. Using a large rope, and a snatch block, the feller climbed the the adjacent tree (which was within the easement), attached a rope, used a truck to pull the tree from the power cables, and took it down first. The dead tree was next. Both are now down, and we don't have to wonder if we would lose power if the tree fell. 

The tree will be cut into manageable sections, and taken to a burn area. It's a neighbor thing. One neighbor will have his yard spared from rutting from a tractor, and the other neighbor will have a huge fire for an evening barbeque. I call it a win-win.

Some Honesty Would Help

Dishonesty is rampant. Politicians proclaim they want to help, and then make millions on inside trading, gifts from just about everyone that can bribe them, and do so for decades. To make things worse, so many of them are corrupt, their supposed ethics watchdogs ignore the corruption. 

Many of those taking public assistance do so by lying. To make things worse, they drive expensive vehicles, which can be found at Section 8 housing, and in grocery store parking lots, where they use ill-gotten money to buy groceries working people can't afford. 

People hire illegals, their churches assist in helping them to survive in the United States, and when those that enforce the law try to perform their job, people riot, assault the officers, and the local government helps in the insurrection by promoting the violence. 

Many in the media choose to fabricate stories, outright lie, and think their subversive activities should be protected because of their distorted opinion of the First Amendment. 

Those that count the votes may be the worse. Not only are illegal votes counted, and any efforts to audit the ballots are met with law suits to prevent access. This destroys the integrity demanded by our Constitutional Republic. 

The only solution to these problems can never be legislated, or demanded. Integrity is a form of self-discipline that only comes from those raised in an environment that demands a refusal too use deception to achieve gain. That environment has been polluted by those that use any method - including criminal activities - to achieve wealth and power. 

How this disregard for honesty can be changed is something that won't happen without a conscious effort by people to make the change. I don't have much faith this will happen. Too many are part of the grift, too many are apathetic, and the slide downhill accelerates.