My builder will be pouring two grade beams in order to support my garage slab (new addition). As I understand it, there should be a void under the grade beams (using cardboard void forms) since I have a clay soil. Should there also be a void under the slab itself? There are products on the market specifically for this, but my builder didn't mention it. I believe they are going to pour the slab directly over 4" aggregate, which doesn't seem like the right approach. If the grade beams need a void underneath, surely the slab itself does as well. That bring me to my next question. They had to remove a section of my porch slab, which is supported by a few short concrete stem walls that protrude perpendicularly from the main foundation. The builder said they are going to back fill underneath so the slab is sitting on a solid base, as opposed to having a void underneath. Don't I [I]want[/I] a void underneath?

My sister and I are getting our family home ready to sell and one of the projects was the basketball pole/goal behind the parking pad. She hired a company to remove it, but all they were able to do was pull off the top part, leaving us with about 4 feet of pole still in the ground. No amount of sledge hammering seemed to break of the concrete in the ground, and truck-pulling with a chain only broke the pole at the level where it had concrete inside. Now my sister wants me to get someone to saw the pole off at ground level and just cover what's left with mulch. Is that even possible? Will a reciprocating saw be able to do that? And would the metal blade work once you hit the concrete inside? Or is there some other way to just cut it off? Thanks, Lefty3