A structural engineer in Portland said my foundation detail was 'asking for trouble'

We were reviewing a set of residential plans at a coffee shop on Burnside. He pointed at my detail for a pier and grade beam, saying 'You've got the rebar lap splice at the exact point of maximum moment. That's asking for trouble.' I had just copied it from an old office standard. What's a better rule of thumb for placing those splices in a concrete foundation?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_lily23d ago

Keep splices away from high stress zones, maybe a third of the span from the support.

derekward23d ago

Yep, my buddy learned that the hard way.

oscar66621d ago

Oh man, I feel that. I once tried to fix a deck railing with a splice right in the middle of a section. Looked fine for about a week until it gave out when someone leaned on it. Had to explain to my cousin why he almost took a tumble off my porch. Definitely not my brightest moment.