I don't know if any of you remember last November when I was having trouble getting my block layer to the job sight,long story short I ended our working relationship. I had to shut the job down because the temperature was getting well below freezing and I don't have the means to do a cold weather shelter for laying block. I laid straw and bisqueen down on the footings with the crawl open. I went to the property this weekend and I have about one foot of ice in the crawl and its thawing. When this thaws and I can drain it some how I will get down in there and see what damage I took. What do you think, will it be bad or do you think I may be ok. The footing is 12" thick by 16" wide and two 5/8" rebar inbedded in it??
If I could do it over again I would have poored a heating concrete slab. That was my first idea but I had some buddies talk me out of it because of the plumbing.
Thanks
Mark
Harbor Freight has relatively cheap sump pumps that I sometimes use for pumping footings out for my steel work - they are submersible - some hook directly to a water hose.
If you have rebar in the footings, even cracks will likely not bother you.
Quote from: glenn kangiser on February 15, 2009, 10:21:37 AM
Harbor Freight has relatively cheap sump pumps that I sometimes use for pumping footings out for my steel work - they are submersible - some hook directly to a water hose.
If you have rebar in the footings, even cracks will likely not bother you.
It doesn't sound as bad as you would expect. In the east we often have jobs started and are shut down by the weather just as you have described. If the footing (bottom) is below the frost or freeze line and it has not heaved up with great differences in elevation you should be fine. It is a task to remove water sometimes but after the "spring thaw" remove the water as glenn stated and allow the surface to dry and then go to town on the block.
Just to get working a little earlier wait until it is partially thawed then break and remove the ice. Sometimes without good warm weather it may take some time for all of it to thaw on it's own.
There's no way to know what's there until you get the water out, and nothing you can do until you get that far. So, my phioloophy is to not spend time worrying about what I can't control. Do as Glenn suggests, have a look at the pump assortment at harbor freight or northern tool and pump out the water when you can, get it cleaned out and see whatcha got.
Then worry if need be.
As long as your on good soil you should be alright.
once the water is under control the dirt should heal up and be as good or better than before.
Dirt has a way of getting very hard once saturated and than dried out.