Measure required design dimensions of anchor bolts and foundation
Measure required design dimensions of anchor bolts and foundation
(OP)
I am checking a structure and foundation of an old shop metal building. There are no drawings probably because first owner built it by himself. All steel structural members are accessible and measurable but anchor bolts and concrete foundation. What is the cheapest method for getting required design dimensions of anchor bolts and concrete foundation?
Your inputs would be greatly appreciated.
Ibro V.
Your inputs would be greatly appreciated.
Ibro V.





RE: Measure required design dimensions of anchor bolts and foundation
Seriously, you will probably have to expose a "representative" number of footings and measure them (L,W & D), then back-figure the allowable bearing pressure that was used.
I don't know what to say about the anchor bolts -
RE: Measure required design dimensions of anchor bolts and foundation
How much do you want to trust the prior construction? How much would new anchor bolts, with or without pedestal jackets, cost?
You could GPR the footings to determine lateral extent but it won't tell you about thickness or reinforcement. You can ultrasonically test the anchor bolts to determine approximate length but you may need to know the specific steel grade for better accuracy. Good Luck.
RE: Measure required design dimensions of anchor bolts and foundation
You may want to contact a firm like Whitlock Dahlrymple and Poston as they have some experience with this sort of thing using GPR. Andy Dahlrymple should be your contact point. http://www.wdpa.com/ is their web site.
Just so everyone is clear on this, I have no (NONE, ZERO, ZIP, NATHA) affiliation with WDP. I just know that they have experience with this kind of thing. there must be other firms that could do this. I found them using Google.
RE: Measure required design dimensions of anchor bolts and foundation
If the reason for the investigation is that the use of the steel framed building is going to change and additional loads are to be induced (perhaps a gantry crane, or additional heavy machinery) then is it possible to design so that new loadings are isolated from the existing foundations.
Zambo
RE: Measure required design dimensions of anchor bolts and foundation
While it is best to get as much information as possible about the existing building design, I think it would be unusual that the anchor bolts and footings would be the limiting factors in the building design.
Just a few thoughts to consider.