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Subject: Do you know anything about concrete construction?
They're building something next door to my house, and it's confounding me:
![[Image: http://nfgworld.com/grafx/photos/buildingnextdoor.jpg]](http://nfgworld.com/grafx/photos/buildingnextdoor.jpg "http://nfgworld.com/grafx/photos/buildingnextdoor.jpg")
This is a concrete form, it's about the sixth or seventh identical layer. They fill the entire thing with concrete, but not before filling the boxes in the centre about two-thirds with dirt or gravel. When this layer's complete, it's smooth across the top, and you can barely see the outline from the wood boxes in the middle. There's no sign, when completed, that there's anything different between the two areas.
I can't work out why they're doing these boxes: why fill them with dirt or gravel and then concrete across the top? If they were going to dig them out later, why put so much concrete on the top? If they're not going to dig them out, why do it at all? If they are going to dig them out, why would they do that!? It's too small for an elevator or other machinery, it's not tall enough for any kind of room (each layer is about 20cm, I'd estimate - the total for five layers is not much more than 1.2 metres or so).
It's baffling, I'm really stumped. Anyone else know?
This is a concrete form, it's about the sixth or seventh identical layer. They fill the entire thing with concrete, but not before filling the boxes in the centre about two-thirds with dirt or gravel. When this layer's complete, it's smooth across the top, and you can barely see the outline from the wood boxes in the middle. There's no sign, when completed, that there's anything different between the two areas.
I can't work out why they're doing these boxes: why fill them with dirt or gravel and then concrete across the top? If they were going to dig them out later, why put so much concrete on the top? If they're not going to dig them out, why do it at all? If they are going to dig them out, why would they do that!? It's too small for an elevator or other machinery, it's not tall enough for any kind of room (each layer is about 20cm, I'd estimate - the total for five layers is not much more than 1.2 metres or so).
It's baffling, I'm really stumped. Anyone else know?
BLEARGH