annathinking.blogg.se

1. #CONCRETE DECK PIERS HOW TO#
2. #CONCRETE DECK PIERS INSTALL#
3. #CONCRETE DECK PIERS CODE#
4. #CONCRETE DECK PIERS SERIES#

Not designed to be stripped from the poured concrete. Hardware & Re-Bar: Be sure to have sufficient rebar cut to length, as well as anchor bolts or post bases on hand, as they must be added to the concrete while it is still wet.Ĭhoices for Concrete Forming Tubes & Their Properties, Prices, AvailabilityĮxtra protection from frost-heaving due to lensing on the sides of concrete piers in very cold climates.The gravel provides a solid base that should be on top of virgin, un-disturbed soil (or compacted soil if necessary) and it improves drainage below the pier. Gravel: Also under some codes you may need to add several inches of gravel to the bottom of each footing before adding concrete.It's smart to take photos of how you constructed the piers to avoid any question later-on about depth, bottom treatment, re-bar, etc. Watch out: under some codes, you may be required to have the footings inspected before making the piers.

#CONCRETE DECK PIERS CODE#

This is a good time to double- check your building code and permit. Photo: deck piers and posts installed by the author at a Poughkeepsie NY home. They create smooth-sided piers that resist uplift caused by frost make it easier to estimate how much concrete you will need and hold moisture in the curing concrete longer, resulting in stronger piers. These tubes may be required by your building code, especially if the local soils are sandy or loose.īut they are convenient and practical in all circumstances. The following steps demonstrate the use of waxed cardboard tubes, popularly called SonoTubes, for making concrete piers.

#CONCRETE DECK PIERS HOW TO#

How to Build Deck Post Footings & Structural Piersįootings and piers are designed to support the weight of a deck through all types of weather and stress. We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need.

#CONCRETE DECK PIERS SERIES#

This article series describes critical safe-construction details for decks and porches, including the preparation of footings, piers, and pier-to-post connections for decks, porches, & exterior stairs. We describe using a SonoTube concrete form to pour the concrete piers or footings that will carry deck posts. This article explains how to prepare deck footings or piers using cardboard tubes, reinforcing steel, post connectors, and concrete. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website. As the popularity of these increase they are likely to be more common place.InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. Some of the local building supply companies are also starting to carry them. We purchase them from a local precast concrete supplier that makes septic tanks, manhole structures and misc concrete products. Since writing this article quite a few people have inquired about where to buy precast concrete piers. Be sure to come back and continue to follow this series as we build this new home. The piers are 54″ tall so you can have the base at 48″ (depth of frost protection here in NH) and still have 6″ above finished grade. Now the flip side of this is these are really only good when you have an excavator to dig a large hole and something to pick them up with. And the best part is you don’t have to worry about the weather. The piers have a threaded insert cast into the top so you can connect your porch or deck posts to them. They have a very large base for increased bearing capacity. Precast concrete piers offer several benefits compared to sonotubes. Then you also face the issue of whether or not you have sufficient bearing capacity. If the weather goes bad, which it does around here all the time, then the sonotubes can get wet and collapse before you get the concrete in them. In theory that works pretty well but my experience over the years has been nothing short of frustrating when it comes to building piers with sonotubes.

#CONCRETE DECK PIERS INSTALL#

Traditionally you would dig a hole in the ground, install a sonotube and then pour concrete into the hole.

The new house has a front porch and rear deck for a hot tub so we installed the precast concrete piers to support the structural framing. On a recent project, Total House Construction Series – Foundation to Finish, I wanted to point out how we used precast concrete piers.

Precast concrete piers are really great and we use them exclusively for porches and decks when we build new homes. In a previous posts I wrote about Porch and Deck Pier Footings and I highlighted a really great construction product, the precast concrete pier.