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A few years ago, I needed to cut the bottom chord out of a number of roof trusses In order to install a 4 post lift in my garage. My engineer specified 2X12 rafters sistered to the existing top chords. We both "felt" that 2X12 was overkill---but his calculations consistently showed that...

I would only add that the difference may be more akin to Science versus Art----you pick which is "science" and which is "art".

djr1897 I think you are confused...After running the hydrometer, the sample in the hydrometer jar is washed thru a #200 ( or #270--or whatever) sieve, and dried. Then it is run thru the stack of fine sieves between #10 and #200--or whatever your finest sieve is. You need the hygroscopic...

"It can start like that, but you wouldn't want to power a vehicle with no transmission, like the steam locomotives do. " IC engines produce their power over a rather limited RPM range. Steam engines develop maximum torque at stall making a transmission unnecessary. If only someone could develop...

ASTM D1556 has several requirements for density sand. Max particle size, uniformity, free-flowing, etc, but no specific requirement for its density. Most that I have used was right around 90 pcf give or take a pound or so.

Short term---you were able to cash the check. MANY years ago I attended a seminar on landslide mitigation where the presenter discussed his firm's solution to a landslide in a residential area. He was very positive and the analysis was very much in-depth. Six months later, I was installing...

A few more thoughts... For whom are you working? The Owner? the Excavator? The Government? If you are working for the Owner--it is his interests that you are protecting. Don't try to be the "nice guy" and go easy on the Contractor because you only incur liability for yourself with no...

I witnessed a pressure test of a high pressure gas transmission line that was 2 1/2 miles long. Again, which "Standards"?

Great advice from Ron, above.... Remember.....good concrete is a combination of water, cement and [b]aggregates. Bad concrete has the same constituents.

Check, recheck, and recheck again. GPS can be a wonderful tool....but.... I was recently on an earth work job, doing compaction testing of Fill. There was no stake-out; GPS only. I asked the dozer operator to give me an elevation for an area I just tested. Then, for giggles, I had him move...

I have always used the method that OldestGuy described. Do any of you other old timers remember seeing the actual "rule of thumb"? Some text books gave unconfined strength numbers based on how far you could penetrate soil using your thumb..

I would ask, "100% of what" There are different tests for maximum density; none give an "absolute" answer, but are relative to the energy applied. You are not alone....MANY people thing 100% density is a absolute maximum number; it is not.

I know ASTM and AASHTO test methods are similar....but not precisely the same. Is there a chart comparing the similarities and difference for "standard" soils tests---i.e. Identification/ grain size/ Gsp/ ?

Years ago, I saw a copy of a Harvard Soils primer. It was a pamphlet put out by some Harvard students and made good sport of some of the conventions and tests for soils..I remember one particular discussion of a "disposable technician" triaxial soils test .....another showed the...

Does anyone know how ASTM defines the Constant-Temperature Room? How much temperature variation is allowed. I am preparing for AASHTO Resource certification of our soils labs. Our lab has its own Heat and A/C controlled to 72 degrees F. I want to avoid the cost of the water bath for hydrometers.

Noirm, So mandating manual transmissions and all driving instructions in cursive could cripple the nation????

Another question..... I have been running D422 ( Gradation with hydrometer) for years. Sometimes w/o the hydro, which I understand means that the test was not run according to the Standard, as the hydrometer portion was not optional, even though it was often treated that way. I see they have...

Ron, my sentiments exactly. Just because we can calculate to 3 or 4 or 50 digits doesn't mean that "information" is of any value. The very next scoop of soil will be different. When I first learned Proctors, the standards merely required that the blows from the rammer be equally distributed...

oldestguy... Now THAT sounds like the voice of experience...as the rope catches on the cathead drum......been there, done that....lived to tell.

Having secured our Accreditation for Concrete testing, I am now starting the process for SOILS. We do not require accreditation in a great number of Standards, just basic Identification and Moisture-Density should be sufficient. I will pursue both ASTM and AASHTO methods for proctors as both...