BTW I'm tiles wife, he's not here but said I should post.
Awhile back tile posted asking questions about the different types of buildings to erect. After many replies and good things to take into consideration, he decieded to go with a Arch style metal building from Pioneer Steel. It's a 40 x 48 with 16' ceiling. There are endwals at either end that are setback 16"+/- for an overhang. We purchased the building and hired a contractor friend who we have worked for in the past. We are a tile/epoxy contractor which is a finish trade. So, we see and know a bit of construction do's and don'ts. Unfortunately we do not get to see the structural end of all this construction. I say that because I really wish I had known more and I also wish I could rewind time to say mid July.
While I waited for the building documents and the permitting to go thru I had my neighbor dig up the area for the slab pad and I brought in several trucks of dirt. No real requirements but I wanted to elevate the barn about 2'. This dirt pad sat for some time til the contractor got the permit and we could finally get started. I was so excited to see something finally happen. It kinda makes you think you're really gonna have a barn. The contractor came out with a couple guys and they started forming this slab. They called for an inspection and to his surprise it failed. He was quite dumbfounded but said Ok we'll fix that. The problems were J-bolts not the right size, no wire and can not substitute fibre, the cages were not tied at the end. He comes back out in 2 weeks ( J-Bolts were special order) and fixes everything the inspector had a problem with. He calls for another inspection and again to his surprise it fails. This time the inspector says there is not enough space between the rebar and the ground, anchor bolts needed 6" embedment, and the footers were to be poured seperate and have a control joint. My contractor was not happy so he called the inspector and did whatever contractors do to get them to pass it. I say this because without making a single change to the 2nd list the inspector changed a failed inspection to a passed inspection. I thought ok they worked out whatever problems they may have had. As it turned out a couple days came and went without any word from the contractor. Then on Saturday I called him to let him know the building had arrived. He said great I'll be out tomorrow to check the bolt placement against the base plate. Seemed like an excellent idea to me. However he never showed until Monday AM and a concrete truck pulled in seconds after he did. May not be bad except he was alone. I had to leave to take my daughter to school, husbands not home and they are doing what they do. I was not very comfortable with the whole thing at this point. By the time I get back he has a couple guys with him and still one concrete truck which has just begun dropping concrete ( 40 minutes have passed). Shortly after I arrive home a second concrete truck shows up and sits for atleast 30 minutes before the third truck shows up while the first truck is just finishing. I am not happy at this point as I know this does not look good. I let my contractor know about my concerns to no avail. They continue with the pour and after a long day they finish up while leaving a trail of concrete throughout my field. Apparently a good bushhogging does wonders with a field of concrete, according to my contractor. I have since learned they added extreme amounts of water to each truck and after all was done the slab is not what I signed up for. I have included a few pics so you can see what I have so far. You'll see bolts that don't line up, concrete that was not finished and even a few areas that apparently didn't really need any concrete at all.
I'm not good at attachments so I've added links to the files on my site.
Click here for images
I think I'm going to have the factory look at the base plates to see if they are not being comprimised and have the concrete tested for structural deficiencies. What would you do? Any thoughts or ideas on this would be appreciated.
Thanks
Awhile back tile posted asking questions about the different types of buildings to erect. After many replies and good things to take into consideration, he decieded to go with a Arch style metal building from Pioneer Steel. It's a 40 x 48 with 16' ceiling. There are endwals at either end that are setback 16"+/- for an overhang. We purchased the building and hired a contractor friend who we have worked for in the past. We are a tile/epoxy contractor which is a finish trade. So, we see and know a bit of construction do's and don'ts. Unfortunately we do not get to see the structural end of all this construction. I say that because I really wish I had known more and I also wish I could rewind time to say mid July.
While I waited for the building documents and the permitting to go thru I had my neighbor dig up the area for the slab pad and I brought in several trucks of dirt. No real requirements but I wanted to elevate the barn about 2'. This dirt pad sat for some time til the contractor got the permit and we could finally get started. I was so excited to see something finally happen. It kinda makes you think you're really gonna have a barn. The contractor came out with a couple guys and they started forming this slab. They called for an inspection and to his surprise it failed. He was quite dumbfounded but said Ok we'll fix that. The problems were J-bolts not the right size, no wire and can not substitute fibre, the cages were not tied at the end. He comes back out in 2 weeks ( J-Bolts were special order) and fixes everything the inspector had a problem with. He calls for another inspection and again to his surprise it fails. This time the inspector says there is not enough space between the rebar and the ground, anchor bolts needed 6" embedment, and the footers were to be poured seperate and have a control joint. My contractor was not happy so he called the inspector and did whatever contractors do to get them to pass it. I say this because without making a single change to the 2nd list the inspector changed a failed inspection to a passed inspection. I thought ok they worked out whatever problems they may have had. As it turned out a couple days came and went without any word from the contractor. Then on Saturday I called him to let him know the building had arrived. He said great I'll be out tomorrow to check the bolt placement against the base plate. Seemed like an excellent idea to me. However he never showed until Monday AM and a concrete truck pulled in seconds after he did. May not be bad except he was alone. I had to leave to take my daughter to school, husbands not home and they are doing what they do. I was not very comfortable with the whole thing at this point. By the time I get back he has a couple guys with him and still one concrete truck which has just begun dropping concrete ( 40 minutes have passed). Shortly after I arrive home a second concrete truck shows up and sits for atleast 30 minutes before the third truck shows up while the first truck is just finishing. I am not happy at this point as I know this does not look good. I let my contractor know about my concerns to no avail. They continue with the pour and after a long day they finish up while leaving a trail of concrete throughout my field. Apparently a good bushhogging does wonders with a field of concrete, according to my contractor. I have since learned they added extreme amounts of water to each truck and after all was done the slab is not what I signed up for. I have included a few pics so you can see what I have so far. You'll see bolts that don't line up, concrete that was not finished and even a few areas that apparently didn't really need any concrete at all.
I'm not good at attachments so I've added links to the files on my site.
Click here for images
I think I'm going to have the factory look at the base plates to see if they are not being comprimised and have the concrete tested for structural deficiencies. What would you do? Any thoughts or ideas on this would be appreciated.
Thanks
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