Post Tension Cable Sticking Out Of Foundation

Usually a sign in the garage or stamp in the slab will indicate if your home has a post tension slab.

Post tension cable sticking out of foundation.

A post tension slab on grade for a house foundation. A post tension slab is a concrete slab or foundation that contains high tension cables running through the concrete to increase strength and reduce cracking typically in areas with poor soil conditions. To evaluate each tendon the contractor will dig up the face of the foundation at the live ends of the tendons the end originally used for tensioning at the time of construction to expose the face of the foundation for cleaning and inspection of each of the tendon anchors clean out the old grout and examine the cables and anchor points of the tendons before repair or regrouting. The builder s superintendent kinda dismissed the cable issue saying it was their foundation contractor s problem.

I cannot claim to be an expert in post tensioning but i have read about cables flying out the side of a foundation when cut. If you notice a post tension cable sticking out of the concrete wedge you need to call in a post tension cable specialist to fix the concrete and ensure proper cable tension. It is critical for all cable anchors and post tension cables to undergo proper maintenance. The middle of the slab foundation is the weakest area and the surrounding areas are only a little stronger.

I suppose you could destress it chip out enough concrete to lower the strand into position patch around it and restress. Foundation repair of post tension foundation including cables. An unlevelled floor is a sign of a foundation problem and. I think laying out using the grouted pockets around the perimeter of the house and a good metal detector will reveal the location of the cables but cutting into the slab with a saw could be very dangerous.

I have seen this play out many times. Or maybe just destress and remove or abandon this strand. The result is that the home builder simply cannot tighten the post tension cables enough to give the concrete slab the strength to resist bending movements. While doing a walk thru this wk i noticed a post tension cable in the kitchen sticking up thru the surface of the concrete near where the elec plumbing for the kitchen island enter the foundation.