Wires Around A Foundation

[hausdok]

Hi All,

Didn't someone ask a while back about some strange bare steel wires they found coming out of the ground next to a foundation that then disappearing into the exterior wall? Who was that?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Rocon]

It sounds like a Ufer grounding wire to me.

[hausdok]

Hi,

No, it wasn't ufer grounding; someone had found a bunch of mechanics wire around a foundation and wanted to know what it was all about. I remember seeing the post someplace and thought it was here. Anyway, for you Seattle area folks, if you see these and you're wondering what they are I came across one yesterday and figured them out; the mechanics wire is used to suspend the downspout receiver piping around the foundation when the foundation hasn't been backfilled yet. After the foundation has been backfilled, the contractor snips those wires on the outboard side of the in-ground pipe and leaves the wires on the inboard side of the pipe next to the foundation there to eventually rust away.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by hausdok

Hi,

No, it wasn't ufer grounding; someone had found a bunch of mechanics wire around a foundation and wanted to know what it was all about. I remember seeing the post someplace and thought it was here. Anyway, for you Seattle area folks, if you see these and you're wondering what they are I came across one yesterday and figured them out; the mechanics wire is used to suspend the downspout receiver piping around the foundation when the foundation hasn't been backfilled yet. After the foundation has been backfilled, the contractor snips those wires on the outboard side of the in-ground pipe and leaves the wires on the inboard side of the pipe next to the foundation there to eventually rust away.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Are you sure they weren't tracer wires?

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[hausdok]

Hi Jim,

No, just simple mechanics wire wrapped around a foundation bolt then looped down under and around the plastic pipe and back up again and wrapped around the bolt again to suspend the plastic drains for the leaders in place alongside the foundation until the foundation was backfilled. I'd seen them before and had always thought they were tracer wire or something like that but never knew the right answer until Sunday's home.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike