OffTopic~ Big block of stone

[Rob F.]

As I reread my above post, it occurred to me that a more peaceful and perhaps practical approach to the problem might be to emulate traffic engineers' design of traffic light standards. I think, if I were confronted wtih this problem, I might make a nice steel 4X4 post and sure bury the base in a concrete. But join the base and the above-ground portion with a flange held by relatively weak bolts. Then repair of the damage is easy and nobody gets hurt. Or make the underground base out of a steel 4X4 and then just drop in a wood 4X4. Again repair is easy. At the same time, no dope can just ease up to it and push it over without at least denting his bumper. I guess there is no perfect solution.

Denis

I like this idea, with the addition of a HEAVY mailbox on top to break baseball bats.
Rob

 

[dgfoster]

To go a little more back to the original topic: WALLACE T

I know this is familiar to many here. But, I am still fascinated by what this guy has done. A look around at his site shows some amazing work.

Denis

 

[Groovejivey]

Last time I checked (yes, it's been awhile), speed limit in residential areas was 25mph unless otherwise marked. If not posted, default speed is still 25mph, & that is nationwide, afaIk. Shitty weather, you're driving in a residential neighborhood, & you hydroplane into my mailbox? Sorry, no sympathy there. You're driving drunk & introduce yourself to my mailbox? Sorry, still no sympathy. I have zero tolerance for stupidity, poor choices in the face of knowing better, & outright, blatant "just not giving a fuck"... I seriously doubt there's any legal recourse for someone hanging their automobile on a mailbox, regardless of the circumstances.

 

[jrmach]

How about running into parked cars on the side of the road.Lost 2 cars at once in front of my house due to a texter.

 

[Peter.]

Peter,

You are wrong. A cubic yard of concrete is about 2700#. WET!

George

Weight depends on aggregate used and steel content George but your figure falls far short of the mark for average weight. Here in London and South East England I've been cutting concrete on major projects for 25 years and never under-guessed it yet by any significant amount. The flint aggregate we have tends to put our concrete at the heavier end of the scale. I use 2.5tons for a cubic meter as a 'safe' estimate, which is 5500lb for 1.3cubic yards or 4231lbs/cubic yard. Your figure would be close enough for broken concrete rubble.

 

[bridgedog]

Same here. All my rigger cards show reinforced concrete at 150 per cubic foot or approx. 4000 per yard

Weight depends on aggregate used and steel content George but your figure falls far short of the mark for average weight. Here in London and South East England I've been cutting concrete on major projects for 25 years and never under-guessed it yet by any significant amount. The flint aggregate we have tends to put our concrete at the heavier end of the scale. I use 2.5tons for a cubic meter as a 'safe' estimate, which is 5500lb for 1.3cubic yards or 4231lbs/cubic yard. Your figure would be close enough for broken concrete rubble.

 

[dgfoster]

Last time I checked (yes, it's been awhile), speed limit in residential areas was 25mph unless otherwise marked. If not posted, default speed is still 25mph, & that is nationwide, afaIk. Shitty weather, you're driving in a residential neighborhood, & you hydroplane into my mailbox? Sorry, no sympathy there. You're driving drunk & introduce yourself to my mailbox? Sorry, still no sympathy. I have zero tolerance for stupidity, poor choices in the face of knowing better, & outright, blatant "just not giving a fuck"... I seriously doubt there's any legal recourse for someone hanging their automobile on a mailbox, regardless of the circumstances.

Had you read up the thread you might have noticed:

<> Probably not a real issue in a residential area with low speeds (as it looks in the OP's photo) but a real issue on country roads and highways.

Denis

I have quite a bit tolerance for stupidity. I guess if I had never been stupid myself I'd be more ready see stupid people die or be needlessly hurt because of my looking to teach them a lesson. Most of the people I have talked to can recount their "lucky to be alive" stories. I have kids who were once teenagers and fortunately survived become adults I am very proud of. Probably did so because someone did show them some quarter. I was once a teenager. I owe my life to trucker who cared about a car full of kids driven by teenager me traveling way too fast and passing his truck on a two-lane. He got off on the shoulder to let us back into our lane. I sure am glad he risked his rig rather than just shrugging at those dumb asses and letting the chips fall..... I turned out to be a pretty careful driver and responsible adult who raised a family, worked productively for 40 years and still am trying to make a contribution. Still can be a dumb ass once in a while.

Denis

 

[daredo222]

Energy absorption.

Sorry to get a bit of topic but these photos of an actual accident shows the energy absorbing characteristics of a reinforced concrete post. Glad I was the photographer, not the driver.

Ray

 

[gmatov]

Denis,

It may weigh "Practically" the same, but you do not use a lot of water for strong concrete. It DOES lose water weight as it cures, see here:

Is wet concrete heavier then dry concrete

How much does one cubic yard of concrete weigh 2,000 to 3500 # depending on mix, not 4,000 +. But if you want HEAVY concrete, use hematite, a type of iron ore as the aggregate. Stronger? I do not know. Heavier? Obviously.

George

 

[dgfoster]

Denis,

It may weigh "Practically" the same, but you do not use a lot of water for strong concrete. It DOES lose water weight as it cures, see here:

Is wet concrete heavier then dry concrete

How much does one cubic yard of concrete weigh 2,000 to 3500 # depending on mix, not 4,000 +. But if you want HEAVY concrete, use hematite, a type of iron ore as the aggregate. Stronger? I do not know. Heavier? Obviously.

George

The first site you referred to is "Answers" a website that provided the 2000 to 3500 number but offers no source for that "answer". That information is at significant variance with every other site that I could see on the web. The link I provided above is from a major manufacturer and I could have provided 10 others with comparable numbers. The only exception is for special (and very expensive) lightweight concretes used in architectural applications like multistory buildings where weight is not a major factor. Your correcting Peter in post 35:

"Peter,

You are wrong. A cubic yard of concrete is about 2700#. WET!

After reading the rest of the thread, no comment.

George" was what I was responding to and I am sorry to say Peter was correct that ordinary concrete weighs jsut what he said or a little more.

With respect to dry vs. wet concrete and its weight change it is about 4% which again in this case is practically no difference since you were "correcting" Peter and making a 50% underestimate in concrete weight. And yes his estimate might have been a little strong, but was clearly referencing common every day concrete---the 4000 pound per yard stuff. If you do not believe it, check with your local supplier and see what they say.

Denis​

 

[Bill D]

I know when I worked at Lawrence Berkeley lab they had blocks of heavy concrete. It used iron ore for aggregate. Used as radiation shielding when they wanted more room.
Bill D.

It may weigh "Practically" the same, but you do not use a lot of water for strong concrete. It DOES lose water weight as it cures, see here:

Is wet concrete heavier then dry concrete

How much does one cubic yard of concrete weigh 2,000 to 3500 # depending on mix, not 4,000 +. But if you want HEAVY concrete, use hematite, a type of iron ore as the aggregate. Stronger? I do not know. Heavier? Obviously.

George[/QUOTE]

 

[Greenwud]

As I reread my above post, it occurred to me that a more peaceful and perhaps practical approach to the problem might be to emulate traffic engineers' design of traffic light standards. I think, if I were confronted wtih this problem, I might make a nice steel 4X4 post and sure bury the base in a concrete. But join the base and the above-ground portion with a flange held by relatively weak bolts. Then repair of the damage is easy and nobody gets hurt. Or make the underground base out of a steel 4X4 and then just drop in a wood 4X4. Again repair is easy. At the same time, no dope can just ease up to it and push it over without at least denting his bumper. I guess there is no perfect solution.

Denis

It seems that the element of "tongue in cheek" has been lost and once again we need to protect others from the consequences of their thoughtless and deliberate actions.

A 6" pipe will collapse if hit at speed and this is indeed what happens to lightpoles and traffic light standards. In fact, I more than suspect that the pipe described came from such a pole.But if you're going to have some "fun", the message is very clearly to do it elsewhere.