Monday, March 05, 2007

PILE CAPS Everyone!

If I had a hammer, or a Pile Integrity Tester

Beginning last Monday February 26th, workers began building the plywood molds, that when filled with concrete, will form what's referred to in the millinery trade as "pile caps". Pile caps are large concrete blocks into which the heads of the sunken piles are embedded. The forms pictured below are on the rear property line. It doesn't look like they are being embedded though. It looks like they are being set, more or less, on top of the pile heads. These pile caps are supposed to distribute the loads evenly amongst its neighbors. Let's hope that what's known as low strain impact testing was performed by the on site engineer to determin if any cracks or voids exist in the burried foundation piles before further construction begins. All it takes is a single blow from a hand held hammer and some complex math according to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM D5882-00)

chazir-treif
The drilling rig is back in action boring holes directly (let's say 10 feet) behind 1502 8th Avenue. It looks and sounds like they are using the "drill inside the pipe method" as specified by the Department of Buildings. Somewhere on the site there is or there is not a forensic engineer from the DoB over-seeing all of this work. Listening to the familiar pounding of metal against metal makes me think the engineers are out sick today.





















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