Can I pour a concrete foundation in multiple pieces?
I'm building a 25-meter (65 foot) block retaining wall. The engineering specifications require a concrete foundation for the block wall equal to about 4 cubic metres (141 cubic feet) of concrete, with reinforcing bar/mesh throughout. This includes 10% waste.
Due to access problems on our (rural) property, the premix concrete supplier will need to make multiple deliveries with a small truck. However, they won’t guarantee the deliveries will all arrive within a particular time window, or even on the same day. I don’t want to get halfway through pouring a single foundation only to find out the next delivery won’t be for another day.
My proposed solution is to pour the foundation in multiple sections to guarantee each section will be completed in a single pour. Reinforcing bar runs between sections joining them together, and formwork used to hold each section in place until the next section is ready to pour.
Question.
Can I pour the foundation in a number of smaller segments which are joined by the reinforcing bar but poured on different days, or will this result in a severe structural problem for the wall sitting on the foundation?
Is a better approach to hire my own mixer and pour many small sections, similar to what is described in this question?
Question from user guest12345 at stackexchange
Answer:
I agree with Ecnerwal, yes you can do that. I also agree to extend the rebar past the pour (drill holes in the form boards and extend the rebar out the holes).
Code (and the CRSI) requires 30 bar diameters. So, if you’re using #4 bar (1/2” diameter), then you need to extend it a minimum of 15”.
Answer from user Lee Sam at stackexchange
I'm building a 25-meter (65 foot) block retaining wall. The engineering specifications require a concrete foundation for the block wall equal to about 4 cubic metres (141 cubic feet) of concrete, with reinforcing bar/mesh throughout. This includes 10% waste.
Due to access problems on our (rural) property, the premix concrete supplier will need to make multiple deliveries with a small truck. However, they won’t guarantee the deliveries will all arrive within a particular time window, or even on the same day. I don’t want to get halfway through pouring a single foundation only to find out the next delivery won’t be for another day.
My proposed solution is to pour the foundation in multiple sections to guarantee each section will be completed in a single pour. Reinforcing bar runs between sections joining them together, and formwork used to hold each section in place until the next section is ready to pour.
Question.
Can I pour the foundation in a number of smaller segments which are joined by the reinforcing bar but poured on different days, or will this result in a severe structural problem for the wall sitting on the foundation?
Is a better approach to hire my own mixer and pour many small sections, similar to what is described in this question?
Question from user guest12345 at stackexchange
Answer:
I agree with Ecnerwal, yes you can do that. I also agree to extend the rebar past the pour (drill holes in the form boards and extend the rebar out the holes).
Code (and the CRSI) requires 30 bar diameters. So, if you’re using #4 bar (1/2” diameter), then you need to extend it a minimum of 15”.
Answer from user Lee Sam at stackexchange