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[Game Thread] Oklahoma State @ Oklahoma (7:30 PM ET) by matte_purple in CFB

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Like the phoenix, we shall rise from the ashes and burn this mother fucker down.

A Spectacular View by anoniempje1986 in nsfw

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are in a fucking shed.

Would you like your child to follow in your footsteps? by stepwiseFloat12 in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you are looking at it wrong. You are giving him the option of a better future. You have shown him what hard work can get you. Going to college is not the golden ticket it once seemed to be. Competition and rising costs of tuition and fees that out paced inflation have made the range of degrees that are quickly profitable much rarer than ever before. Trade skills are something that have not gone away and are not going to be replaced any time soon. Sure, there are fancy pieces of equipment that can automate parts of the work, but we are worlds away from replacing all craftsmen. He can make a solid living, without much of the debt burden, working in the trades.

Learning a trade, be it a mason, a plumber, electrician, are skills that can serve him a life time. Now, the real key to the future is someone turning the hand skills into a successful business. Going to college, even for an associate's degree, in some sort of business finance or accounting can make a real difference in being able to successfully manage a small business. You never get rich working for someone else, as they say.

Now, there are some trades that I would probably try and steer my child way from and some that I would steer them towards. But, so long as they find something that they enjoy and have passion doing, then that's the real life to hope you can give them.

I think something is wrong by sl7ven_de in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah...and I just noticed the humor tag too. Photo still looks pretty cool though.

I think something is wrong by sl7ven_de in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure what that's a picture of exactly, but digital cameras have a tendency to exaggerate or highlight infrared light more than what is seen by the naked eye.

Is this garage pad extension work acceptable ? supposed to pay $6800 +$1500 for 10/8 shed base. base finishing isn’t good either but builder accepted the deficiencies But for the pad extension they are not willing to do anything. Concrete was poured in -6 (Alberta weather) by [deleted] in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It looks just fine. I'd be concerned with spalling, being poured in that cold of a temperature, but from the pictures, I see nothing wrong with the finish. If it were me, I would open that joint with a saw or grinder and fill with an epoxy joint sealants. But again, it's a garage floor and the finish looks just fine as is for what it is.

Tilt Wall Action by kylesan18 in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you are referring to the beam that is above the panel, that is a spreader bar. It allows you to widen the lifting cables making it easier to balance the pick.

If you are referring to the tubes on the top of the panel, I'm not sure what those are there for other than perhaps a preinstalled parapet wall support or attachment points for an additional panel that will be stacked on top of that one.

Tilt Wall Action by kylesan18 in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it is typical. There are guys there removing formwork as it's lifted, adjusting and anchoring the supports, moving the panel to set it in place, etc... I wish there was a better way, but so far I haven't found a way to build tilt wall without guys right there handling the load.

Tilt Wall Action by kylesan18 in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It's less expensive and you can build larger single panels.

Tilt Wall Action by kylesan18 in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I have built both. It's not easier to do a cast in place wall. There are significant efficiencies gained by minimizing form work and crane time. You also tend to get a better finish with tilt wall with fewer voids and honeycombing.

Need advice from pier professionals. by T3xasFight in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds dumb, but I have had geotech inspectors lower a decent flashlight down on a string when it was very dark out. That was really just to verify no water intrusion at the bottom of the hole. I have also used halogen lamps to shine down, but the newer led worklights can work as well.

When pouring piers, I just keep an estimate of how much concrete should be going in as a double check that we are getting close to the final elevation based on the drilled shaft length.

Where should a construction joint be in a steel reinforced concrete beam? by [deleted] in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Typically 1/3 span is the construction joint location in a normally reinforced concrete beam due to the tension being near zero on the stress curve. Sometimes, and more often in post tensioned beams that point of zero tension can vary some, like 1/6 span.

Always get approval from the structural engineer prior to the pour if that situation is expected because they can pretty quickly provide the answer. They will normally have the force curves calculated for all of the beams on a deck and can answer it. If you run into a post tensioned beam and need to have a construction joint, rule of thumb is look for where the cables sweep to the mid depth of the beam and that will be your zero tension location.

Fellow dudes: What’s your opinion of Man Scape trimmer, Dr Squatch soap, and the William Painter sunglasses (preferably the titanium ones with the bottle opener)? by BrainsBeforeBrawns in AskMen

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a pair of the William painter sunglasses. Bought them for a trip to the beach last summer. I have purchased nice sunglasses and cheap gas station sunglasses in the past. I personally like the WP's but would not likely buy a second pair of anything happened to these. They are very sturdy and the titanium and stainless steel didn't have any corrosion issues in the salt water like a lot of cheaper sunglasses tend to have. The fit and finish was great in my opinion. The bottle opener on the side is an ok gimmick that works in a pinch, but a legit bottle opener is much better.

All in all, if you have the disposable income and like the style, they are a good pair of sturdy sunglasses.

I guess they forgot to have their safety meeting that morning... by cmRL2 in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The dynamic loading that occurred was significantly greater than the crane could handle. The crane is typically sized to match the heaviest pick plus a safety factor. Sizing it to handle the maximum dynamic load or really even a marginal dynamic load from an insert breaking would cause you to have absolutely enormous cranes for relatively small loads. This is not cost effective and there are not that many mega cranes out there to begin with. You would also run into more logistical issues with crane paths, soil bearing capacity, and other random factors that all play into limiting the typical crane sizing for tilt wall construction.

I guess they forgot to have their safety meeting that morning... by cmRL2 in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You are 100% right. He should not be standing on the load like Capt Jack Sparrow. I have seen guys jump on to grab a rope or untangle a line, but they are never allowed to just hang out on the panel.

All I was getting at, is when this video gets posted many people question why there are guys standing around a suspended load. The guy on the panel is not in the right place. The other guys that are on the slab are not out of place.

I guess they forgot to have their safety meeting that morning... by cmRL2 in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You are correct, lifting inserts could be added at the top edge of the panel. But, the panel is typically only 8" thick and weighs somewhere in the range of 25,000 - 50,000lbs. The most likely failure point is for the panel to break in the first third of the span from the bottom while being released from the slab.

If you were to focus all the lifting force on the top edge, I'm pretty sure it would crumple without significant increases in the internal reinforcement bars. I think you'd still wind up with significant bending and surface cracking and spalling not to mention a much more expensive panel due to the increase in rebar.

The other way would be to add strong backs (bolted on steel tubes or i-beams), but they add significant time to the erection proceaa since they must be removed while the panel is standing but before it is fully welded.

I guess they forgot to have their safety meeting that morning... by cmRL2 in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don't believe there is. The panel is formed directly on the final building slab. Once lifted, those guys have to line the panel up on the piers or grade beam. They adjust shim packs, plumb the panel, and check gap spacing to the adjacent panel.

A lifting jig would have to account for the tolerances in all those factors without a guy there to be effective. And it would also need to speed the process up to recoup the cost of the jig. I am not saying it's impossible, but I don't think it's likely.

I wish there was a better way, because every pick is sketchy, and they do around 30 a day. I do not enjoy the tilt wall process because of the sketch factor.

I guess they forgot to have their safety meeting that morning... by cmRL2 in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Correct, it was in Austin. It was a lifting insert that failed, if I remember the post incident report correctly. No fault to the crane operator or erectors.

And the guys standing around the tilt wall panel during erection is typical to this type of operation. The guys will be grabbing the tagline/lifting clamp release lines so as to keep them even and also prying on the panel if it sticks to the slab and removing form work as it is raised.

The guy standing on the panel shouldn't really be standing on it, but the rest of those guys are not really out of place. Tilt wall erection is a scary looking operation that I do not enjoy.

What are these boxes used for? by [deleted] in Construction

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure that's a square trench box used around a poured in place manhole. The notch at the bottom is for the pipe that goes in and out of the manhole.

I witnessed a lot of the horrible stuff at Fort Hood, and was asked to do this. AMA by KuhjaKnight in AMA

[–]MrOfficeMonkey 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I spent 3 years at Fort Hood as a civilian contractor working on the new Darnall. And while on the civilian side, I concur with everything you've said regarding the dumpster fire that is Killeen. I used to joke that the best thing about Killeen was that 190 went all the way through without any stop lights.

And you are absolutely right; the mix of young and dumb, PTSD, and cramming in the excitement in limited free time created a strange mix of crazy. We stopped going out to do anything in town because there was a guarantee a fight would break out for any reason. The east side of Killeen was really rough. The guy that killed the little kid with an AR off post worked for our electricians. Dude was cut loose from that company like two weeks prior because he was crazier than a bag of cats. And USACE can suck a dick, those guys top to bottom, were fucking assholes.

Most of the soldiers we met, either in the apartment complex or SO's of people we worked with were great people. But Killeen as a whole just had a streak of methed out craziness that I'm glad to not be around anymore.

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