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Author Topic: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4  (Read 95480 times)

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Offline stlaser

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #850 on: August 07, 2017, 07:11:47 PM »
I have a feeling we're going to have to fire Don again. :)

Hold up, was he ever unfired from the last time?
Living in the remote north hoping Ken doesn’t bring H up here any time soon…..

Offline cudakidd53

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #851 on: August 07, 2017, 07:13:44 PM »
I just had a flashback of the scene in "The Christmas Story" where Ralphie is beating the tar outta Flick and swearing a blue streak while his buddy is trying to alert him to his mothers presence and flinching himself saying "ooooh, yeash!" :facepalm:
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #852 on: August 07, 2017, 07:13:50 PM »
OK, so today was a big wash!

Neither the dealer, nor the factory seem to know anything about their product. I have a case where either the dealer lying or the factory not having a clue what they actually build. Either way, it looks pretty bad at the moment

Here's the chat I had this morning with Big-Tex:

name: don
email: hoverjunkie@hotmail.com
I have a few questions about the 14' dump trailer
 
11:00
Hello,  Don!
Thank for contacting us today, I can help you with your concern.
 
11:01
Considering buying one today/tomorrow... What type of steel do you use?
 
11:01
Unfortunately I do not have the brand of steel that we use.
 
11:02
not brand...what type?
 
11:03
I believe it is priefert steel.
 
11:03
Mild steel?
 
11:04
I apologize but I do not have the information on steel except for the thickness of it.
What is your zip code and I can locate a dealer who can better assist you.
 
11:05
priefert steel is a company/supplier...I'm sure you are a sweetheart, but can you please connect me with someone who really knows the product?
The dealer could not answer my questions
11:06
So here it is. If I can answer the questions to my satisfaction, I will buy the BT trailer, if not, I won't
And
11:07
I do not mean to be rude, just cutting to the quick and trying to find out some things...
 
11:09
I apologize but the "type " of steel is not information that I have.  The only thing I can really tell you about the steel is that it is 20" 16GA.
11:10
I apologize that is not for the 14'
The 14LX-14' has 24" 12Ga side.
 
11:11
That's not correct Ashley, it is 10 gage, 20 gage is like roofing metal. Look, you are my answer source, and you don't know what kind of steel the trailer is made from...The whole trailer is steel, sort of an important item of information...Have a great day,
You should mention that it has high tensile strength steel, if indeed, it does...That is why I asked if it was mild steel
11:18
People meeting customers ought to know the product, but as a buyer I am finding this generic scripted information vs someone who knows anything is the norm. Guess I'm just frustrated, don't take it personally, God Bless..
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Offline cudakidd53

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #853 on: August 07, 2017, 07:17:44 PM »
Customer Service is more likely, Customer Frustration Department....... especially when ofshore! :angry:
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #854 on: August 07, 2017, 07:21:26 PM »
Then I went to the dealer

He said, the trailer is made from high strength steel, not mild steel

So who do I believe, a 15 year old girl in Texas or a salesman who just wants to move units?

I did go over and examine the Big-Tex 14LX more closely and guess what?

The top frame in the dump bed is nothing more than a piece of angle. Not a C or a box, but an angle only. Which means all that could touch the bottom frame is a 1/4" wide contact patch. I bet that wouldn't wear away any of that expensive powder coating!

But what makes it a no-buy and avoid is that none of the upper payload bed touches the lower frame except for the two hinges and the actual scissors mount points. Yep! Top frame and lower frame showed no sign of any contact at all, and the longitudinal spars are recessed even more so the bed floor would have to bend down 3" or more before it would find something to rest on.

Hate to say it, but the thing looks to be of a poor design.
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #855 on: August 07, 2017, 07:22:52 PM »
Customer Service is more likely, Customer Frustration Department....... especially when ofshore! :angry:
They are in Texas MIke!

You'd think Texas would have anything big, heavy duty, ag, destructive, truck related, down pat!
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #856 on: August 07, 2017, 07:25:37 PM »
So, I takes my happy butt over to another dealer who sells Gator Made trailers. They say they are the strongest.

Well I raised the thing and it has the dual cylinder design and is like rock solid. Looking under the bed I see the ribbing is sparse, few, and far between. Looked like close to 30" between spars near the cylinder mount. I just told him, forget it, I wasn't interested.

But the really cool part was that the sales guy, Ben was super cool, a strong believer, and looking back at it, I believe my visit there was more about sharing about our Lord than any trailer!
« Last Edit: August 07, 2017, 07:40:49 PM by Flyin6 »
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Offline cudakidd53

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #857 on: August 07, 2017, 08:10:18 PM »
Customer Service is more likely, Customer Frustration Department....... especially when ofshore! :angry:
They are in Texas MIke!

You'd think Texas would have anything big, heavy duty, ag, destructive, truck related, down pat!

Sometimes they consider themselves to be their own country and the illegals are almost like off-shore help!
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Offline JR

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #858 on: August 08, 2017, 11:49:34 PM »
Someone's gettin' fired, that's for sure

Gave me a PTSD (Post topper stress disorder) attack!

Soon as I figure who's at the heart of this, they're gone

No matter what happens here I always suspect Ken and his ornery brother in the rockies. Seems some of those rocks match up pretty well with what they have in their heads!

Maybe is a conspiracy? 

So where to on trailers now?
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Offline stlaser

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #859 on: August 09, 2017, 12:49:12 AM »
So I give you a list of 3 manufacturers that build a quality product. None of which you start with? Ken, are you following this!?! & he wonders why we went independent! :popcorn:


Something else to consider, structural steel (at least for trailer manufacturing is mild steel). High tensile sheet probably isn't going to be used on a dump trailer and the term of the material you're looking for is an "abrasive resistant or AR grade" material or an "impact resistant" steel which is also called "wear resistant" in some cases. The substantial increased cost of such steel is why you most likely won't find it used on production trailers. You do however find it in the form of wear bars on excavating buckets and in more expensive dump beds for dump trucks etc.

From my experience that isn't really necessary for truck pulled trailers. As you noted the spacing on the cross members and steel thickness of the floor is more important anyhow. If you wear the bed out it's probably time to trade that trailer in if you purchased a quality unit anyhow.

Living in the remote north hoping Ken doesn’t bring H up here any time soon…..

Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #860 on: August 10, 2017, 10:02:26 AM »
I have done more homework and have discovered some really good ones. Load Trail and Kaufman amongst them

Now on to more building. Hustled a bunch of heavy stuff for a couple days and my sore muscles are telling me about it. Objective now is to get the rain collection and distribution system complete. If it works like I think it will, this should answer my short term survival living water needs (Few if any showers, water conservation and so forth...)

When I am around the farm working hard and not drawing water for concrete, I average something a bit less than 25 gallons a day. I take a shower at the end of the day to wash off the dirt, but I wouldn't necessarily have to do that in extremis. Five of us would be busting through, say 150 gallons a day and that would get us through two weeks. We are getting significant rain more frequently than that, so the system will replenish, but not in drought conditions. We are not watering a garden yet so that will have to be provided for eventually.

Realistically, something around 20,000 gallons should span the seasons from dry back to wet and maintain some sort of balance. This is just the next step.

So I plan to construct a mechanical room that will house that big 1550 gallon tank, piping, a filter system, and also a generator, a solar power system and likely a solar heated hot water system along with some mice, roaches, old .22 brass some grandkid found and hid and at least one work glove the dog hid as well. I suspect I will also house some spiders, some mud dubber nests, and an occasional opossum/raccoon/skunk.

So with all those considerations here we go...Build spot is shown here. Room size will be 10 X 14
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #861 on: August 10, 2017, 10:08:35 AM »
I'll be placing everything on a floor set below the existing floor just to keep entry height low, and to give me a tall ceiling for good spider web siting.

Some of you knuckleheads will say, "Well why not just put the tank on the ground" I'd say to that, "It's my build and I wanted it this way," and that is answer enough!

Also, the warrant officer was ah' thinkin' yes he was. The warrant officer sez to himself, "but what ifinns I dig the bank out and expose the downhill piers to water, and reduce the dirt holdin' em' in place?? Den, maybe the buildin' might roll over on its side and even roll over the camper on it's way toward the Licking river...

So piers it is!

And here is the hydraulic and diesel drill and the hole it made
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #862 on: August 10, 2017, 10:11:21 AM »
Those quick tube concrete holdin' things are mostly good. I discovered that once you get them in concrete and you decide to move them a bit, the seams let go and your concrete leaks all over your left shoe.

Once I got the first post done, I used a laser level to shoot all the other post's heights
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #863 on: August 10, 2017, 10:16:47 AM »
^^^ I purposely misaligned that thing just to make my life more difficult. (Any misalignment and the light no shiney) So I got to reset that thing about ten times, but eventually I was able to mark, then mismeasure for the reference line.

Luckily I discovered the misstep and was able to twist the pier back into place, although first twisting it apart and dumping concrete onto my left foot...No worries, some duct tape and life was back to breathing freshly poured concrete dust

(There is a funny story about that I'll relate later)
« Last Edit: August 10, 2017, 10:19:43 AM by Flyin6 »
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #864 on: August 10, 2017, 10:23:07 AM »
Then I discovered a handy technique for leveling and adjusting the exact position for the top.

These tubes are 12"
They come in sets of three
For shipping and to conserve shelf space the sets of three are actually three different sizes so that one fits inside the preceding tube. Therefore one can place the primary tube in the hole close to where you want it, then with a short section of the next larger tube, move it to the exact position, then tape it up, and fill with concrete and reinforcement stuff
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #865 on: August 10, 2017, 10:25:57 AM »
It took a lot of manual labor and was a pretty good workout, but kentucky yielded and the piers now stand proudly erect, although not perfectly straight ready to shoulder the burden of a buncha waters
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #866 on: August 10, 2017, 10:26:29 AM »
And with the site cleaned up:
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #867 on: August 10, 2017, 10:28:05 AM »
I spread some more gravel around the rock step thing and the slope to the shed. In retrospect, I am not so sure that was a good idea...That gravel is currently akin to greased roller bearings...
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #868 on: August 10, 2017, 10:29:34 AM »
Then finished graveling out the pergola, and area around the camper complex
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #869 on: August 10, 2017, 10:30:26 AM »
View of mech room location relative to the pergola
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #870 on: August 10, 2017, 10:31:25 AM »
Speaking of the pergola, it survived a significant thunder storm completely intact...Yea!!!!
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Offline Dawg25385

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #871 on: August 10, 2017, 03:15:16 PM »
Looks good. That green tin looks really nice too


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Offline JR

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #872 on: August 10, 2017, 04:09:09 PM »
Getting a lot done.
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #873 on: August 10, 2017, 04:30:32 PM »
Looks good. That green tin looks really nice too


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I'm going to put it on everything eventually...common theme if you will

After I tear into the roof of the "Shed" I'll just redo it with the metal as well

Pretty easy stuff to use

But hard to hang on to
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Offline cudakidd53

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #874 on: August 10, 2017, 10:56:27 PM »
Looking good there Don - remember, measure twice, cut/dig once! :smiley:
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #875 on: August 11, 2017, 09:16:02 AM »
Looking good there Don - remember, measure twice, cut/dig once! :smiley:
I think that is some subconscious way, I get satisfaction from building things out of alignment, which aren't square, that don't fit properly...
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Offline Armalite

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #876 on: August 11, 2017, 09:45:16 AM »
The last couple of years at H&A we started buying all Kaufman trailers.  Seemed to be built a lot stouter than anything else, and the prices were better.  So it was a double win. 

On dump trailers, we had 3-4 of them.  3 bumper pull and one gooseneck.  All three bumper pull were single cylinder scissor lift, hydraulic lift, gravity down.  Gooseneck was dual cylinder.  I can say that the single cylinder scissor lifts would get into situations of someone not paying attention and overloading them, and we would need a backhoe or trackhoe to tie on to the front of the trailer to help it lift and dump.  How much weight was it?  I have no clue.  I just know it would not dump unless another piece of equipment was there to help.  But take in to consideration that it was more than likely WAY over loaded...  I never messed with the dual cylinder gooseneck trailer much.  I know they never had any issues with it dumping though. 

Would the single cylinder scissor lift work for your application, I'm sure it will.  And if it doesn't, you have a piece of equipment or two around for assistance.  But the dual cylinder set up may surpass the unknown and give you the results your after without any assistance. 

Offline Armalite

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #877 on: August 11, 2017, 09:47:56 AM »
and on the rock slides you built....

That is clean washed rock.  No fines in it.  If you want compaction, you will have to buy a rock material that has fines in it.  If you keep using clean washed rock, then expect to spin out every time.  Washed rock is fine on flat surfaces, but not on inclines. 

Offline Nate

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #878 on: August 11, 2017, 10:45:56 AM »
The earth mover man has spoken!

Question is ashley, will knucklehead listen or continue to argue with the stop sign......
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Offline wyorunner

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #879 on: August 11, 2017, 10:50:35 AM »
He never looked at a Kaufman.... so I'm throw my bet in the hate of at least looking. Or maybe I missed his review of one?


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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #880 on: August 11, 2017, 11:34:32 AM »
and on the rock slides you built....

That is clean washed rock.  No fines in it.  If you want compaction, you will have to buy a rock material that has fines in it.  If you keep using clean washed rock, then expect to spin out every time.  Washed rock is fine on flat surfaces, but not on inclines. 
I realize the error in my ways
I'll scrape the #57 onto the road and come over top of what remains with some dense grade.
Have it all done before it gets cold.
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Offline stlaser

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #881 on: August 11, 2017, 01:02:43 PM »
Correct me if I'm wrong Ash but can't Don just leave the rock that is there for base and overlay it with say a #73 (I believe that has crushed limestone in it). This is how we built driveways back in Indiana....
Living in the remote north hoping Ken doesn’t bring H up here any time soon…..

Online Bob Smith

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #882 on: August 11, 2017, 02:26:59 PM »
Well I am not Ash, but he needs crusher fines mixed into the clean stuff. If he has elevation room for some minus stuff it should work in and stabilize the clean gravel. If not, scrape some off and start over.

Offline stlaser

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #883 on: August 11, 2017, 06:14:10 PM »
Well I am not Ash, but he needs crusher fines mixed into the clean stuff. If he has elevation room for some minus stuff it should work in and stabilize the clean gravel. If not, scrape some off and start over.

It's ok Bob, Ash isn't even considered part time here. It's like he gets drunk every six months and stumbles in here or something..... :popcorn:
Living in the remote north hoping Ken doesn’t bring H up here any time soon…..

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #884 on: August 11, 2017, 08:04:06 PM »
Rough crowd Don. Curious as to the weight of the water and other mechanicals that you intend to store there. 

Also the rock advice is sound. Gotta have fines to lock in place.


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Offline wyorunner

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #885 on: August 11, 2017, 08:28:18 PM »
Rough crowd Don. Curious as to the weight of the water and other mechanicals that you intend to store there. 

Also the rock advice is sound. Gotta have fines to lock in place.


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This was something I had wondered about because he said he was going to put a 1550 gallon tank in there, which when full, would weigh 12400lbs plus how much ever the empty tank weighs.

I know absolutely zilch about rock, other than it looks good!

Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #886 on: August 12, 2017, 12:34:24 AM »
Rough crowd Don. Curious as to the weight of the water and other mechanicals that you intend to store there. 

Also the rock advice is sound. Gotta have fines to lock in place.


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As a rough estimate, water and piping = 15,000
generator and other electricals, say, 1,000 lbs
Lets throw a water heater in there + 500
Weight of two floors...Did I mention I was considering adding a full second floor which when cut into the roof would make for a 10 X 14 bathroom. So structure, what, a ton?
So the eight piers would be carrying what, 18.5, so lets just say 20,000 or 10 tons
10 X 14 = 140 sq/ft. 20,000/140 = 142.85 lb/ft2
So here's the trick part
Normal home floors are constructed for loads of about 40 psf...

I'm looking at 142ish lb/ft2
I am going to use 2 X 10 syp joists
The 2 X 10 can span quite a distance while maintaining live loads of 40 lb/ft2 with a 24 oc spacing.
Reducing that spacing to 16" gains a lot and I will place mine on 12" centers.
I also plan to span around 9' 6" because I plan to double up the plates the joists will attach to.

It's not completely clear but spanning 10 feet with a 2 X 10 exceeds the 100 lb/ft2 restaurant floor requirement, so with some fuzzy estimating I think I will be there.

Next question is how much weight can a 13" concrete post carry? Well in clay, 1300 lbs per pier, and gravel, 3600 lbs per pier.
But what about piers resting on rock? As in a large rock in the ground that God put there? Man, like I couldn't figure that, but I know the concrete is 5000 lb rated mix, so the pier itself is pretty strong. Some of the piers are deep and rest in clay/rock, and others are resting on the limestone below the surface.

The 40 psf and 100 psf residential and commercial floor structure are easily achieved with the lumber I am using and I am doubling that up, but of the piers??? I just don't know. I think to be sure I'll pour a few more and place them strategically to carry more weight
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #887 on: August 12, 2017, 12:36:03 AM »
Rough crowd Don. Curious as to the weight of the water and other mechanicals that you intend to store there. 

Also the rock advice is sound. Gotta have fines to lock in place.


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That will fix easily...Scrape it out some and overlay with dense grade and call it done
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Offline TexasRedNeck

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #888 on: August 12, 2017, 06:41:03 AM »
Rough crowd Don. Curious as to the weight of the water and other mechanicals that you intend to store there. 

Also the rock advice is sound. Gotta have fines to lock in place.


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As a rough estimate, water and piping = 15,000
generator and other electricals, say, 1,000 lbs
Lets throw a water heater in there + 500
Weight of two floors...Did I mention I was considering adding a full second floor which when cut into the roof would make for a 10 X 14 bathroom. So structure, what, a ton?
So the eight piers would be carrying what, 18.5, so lets just say 20,000 or 10 tons
10 X 14 = 140 sq/ft. 20,000/140 = 142.85 lb/ft2
So here's the trick part
Normal home floors are constructed for loads of about 40 psf...

I'm looking at 142ish lb/ft2
I am going to use 2 X 10 syp joists
The 2 X 10 can span quite a distance while maintaining live loads of 40 lb/ft2 with a 24 oc spacing.
Reducing that spacing to 16" gains a lot and I will place mine on 12" centers.
I also plan to span around 9' 6" because I plan to double up the plates the joists will attach to.

It's not completely clear but spanning 10 feet with a 2 X 10 exceeds the 100 lb/ft2 restaurant floor requirement, so with some fuzzy estimating I think I will be there.

Next question is how much weight can a 13" concrete post carry? Well in clay, 1300 lbs per pier, and gravel, 3600 lbs per pier.
But what about piers resting on rock? As in a large rock in the ground that God put there? Man, like I couldn't figure that, but I know the concrete is 5000 lb rated mix, so the pier itself is pretty strong. Some of the piers are deep and rest in clay/rock, and others are resting on the limestone below the surface.

The 40 psf and 100 psf residential and commercial floor structure are easily achieved with the lumber I am using and I am doubling that up, but of the piers??? I just don't know. I think to be sure I'll pour a few more and place them strategically to carry more weight
You knew what I was asking about.  Couple of things to consider. Your load is not evenly distributed. Those per sq/ft span tables are for evenly distributed loads so make sure you take that into consideration. The only way to know about soils is to test them. If you assume the best, the soil probably can bear 3000 per sq ft. Now remember your kin tucky math. Dem pie are square. Your round 12 inch tube forms are only about 3/4 a sq/ft in surface area. So each would bear about 2300 lbs each. I'd do 9 piers which would fix your span loads for the point load of the tanks and give you a little room on the soil bearing estimates. For a total of about 21,000 lb capacity in 3000lb sq/ft soil.

Here's a site I like to refer to sometimes.
https://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/footing_fundamentals/why_soils_matter.htm


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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #889 on: August 12, 2017, 06:48:12 AM »
Oh, and if you are mixing by hand, consider that cheap 3cu/ft mixer from HF.  With coupon you can pick it up under $200.  it only really mixes 2 80lb bags at a time, but it works well and will cut your labor significantly. 
Kids today don't know how easy they have it. When I was young, I had to walk 9 feet through shag carpet to change the TV channel.

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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #890 on: August 12, 2017, 08:47:44 AM »
Looking good there Don - remember, measure twice, cut/dig once! :smiley:
I think that is some subconscious way, I get satisfaction from building things out of alignment, which aren't square, that don't fit properly...

Finally in touch with your inner Hillbilly aren't you!  :laugh:
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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #891 on: August 12, 2017, 09:53:34 AM »
Looking good there Don - remember, measure twice, cut/dig once! :smiley:
I think that is some subconscious way, I get satisfaction from building things out of alignment, which aren't square, that don't fit properly...

Finally in touch with your inner Hillbilly aren't you!  :laugh:
It's inner/outer/and sometimes all over

BTW, Ma Bengals handed Tampa Bay their butt last night! I was there!
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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #892 on: August 12, 2017, 09:56:49 AM »
RN, I stayed up till nearly 0100 recalcing the thing and having some doubt, I think I am going to change up the design somewhat.
I think I'll set the tank on the ground, on a pad of gravel, then frame up the floor around it. Won't be as convenient, but will remove all the weight from the piers...
Off to do just that...
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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #893 on: August 12, 2017, 10:05:48 AM »
This place is great! Continual learning on many topics is hard to come by! I would have completey forgot to take the pier strength into consideration.

Thanks for the brief lesson gents!


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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #894 on: August 12, 2017, 10:56:36 AM »
RN, I stayed up till nearly 0100 recalcing the thing and having some doubt, I think I am going to change up the design somewhat.
I think I'll set the tank on the ground, on a pad of gravel, then frame up the floor around it. Won't be as convenient, but will remove all the weight from the piers...
Off to do just that...

I know for a pilot type that it's hard to remember that sometimes "grounded" is a good thing- harder for things to drop outta the sky when really heavy!
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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #895 on: August 12, 2017, 12:51:36 PM »
 :popcorn:
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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #896 on: August 12, 2017, 02:04:03 PM »
That'll work too Don.  Caulk between the tank in the floor so you discourage snakes from getting in...or in my case scorpions....
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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #897 on: August 12, 2017, 07:57:49 PM »
TRN that is a nice site but I noticed it does not take into account the depth of the footing. Depth will make a diff since you do get side loading. Now if he is only going down 2ft I doubt it would make a any difference at all. I know when we did my 2nd story footing they were 4ft under the current foundation, but just 2ft wide.

To support the addition I am about to do, I plan on a 12in footing, 3ft deep.
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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #898 on: August 13, 2017, 09:23:18 PM »
OK problem solved/averted. I started with several loads of gravel which I spread, then leveled, then repeated. You will see it getting thicker as we poke along with the next few posts
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Re: Hide Site/Bug-out location Construction, Part 4
« Reply #899 on: August 13, 2017, 09:25:01 PM »
Then the framing begins.
Without the need for doubling up the perimeter, the centers of the "box" did not fall on dead center of the piers, but I think this will be OK
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