Matt
05-18-2011, 07:55 PM
Hello All,
I recently had a contractor dig and install 6 piles for my deck, and I had a question or two about how they did the cement job.
The piles are 4' deep, w/ 10" diameter builder tubes in them. There were a few problems with how the job went, however I am very concerned with the method they used to "mix" the concrete mix. They first started by emptying 2 bags (30kg each) of dry concrete mix into the tubes, followed by an unmeasured amount of water, immediately followed by 2 more bags of dry concrete mix, again followed by an unmeasured amount of water. They then topped off each of the piles with a bit of concrete mix and put some more water top of that. The installer then used his hands to mix up the top 3-4" of each pile. To be clear, there was no mixing of the concrete mix and water to occur at any time during the job (aside from the to 3-4").
The contractor has since been trying to convince me that this is how they complete the piles of every deck he has built, with no problems to date (apparently). Since I have never heard of this method used, I talked to a few engineers I know, as well as the concrete company. Nobody I talked to could endorse the method the contractor used, not surprisingly. I have told him this, however he still says its a "proven" method.
My question is, are the piles the way they have been built even structurally sound? Will they last through the winter?
I have yet to build the deck as I am in the process of getting him to come back and redo the job correctly.
Thank you very much, any advice is appreciated.
I recently had a contractor dig and install 6 piles for my deck, and I had a question or two about how they did the cement job.
The piles are 4' deep, w/ 10" diameter builder tubes in them. There were a few problems with how the job went, however I am very concerned with the method they used to "mix" the concrete mix. They first started by emptying 2 bags (30kg each) of dry concrete mix into the tubes, followed by an unmeasured amount of water, immediately followed by 2 more bags of dry concrete mix, again followed by an unmeasured amount of water. They then topped off each of the piles with a bit of concrete mix and put some more water top of that. The installer then used his hands to mix up the top 3-4" of each pile. To be clear, there was no mixing of the concrete mix and water to occur at any time during the job (aside from the to 3-4").
The contractor has since been trying to convince me that this is how they complete the piles of every deck he has built, with no problems to date (apparently). Since I have never heard of this method used, I talked to a few engineers I know, as well as the concrete company. Nobody I talked to could endorse the method the contractor used, not surprisingly. I have told him this, however he still says its a "proven" method.
My question is, are the piles the way they have been built even structurally sound? Will they last through the winter?
I have yet to build the deck as I am in the process of getting him to come back and redo the job correctly.
Thank you very much, any advice is appreciated.