How To Build Deck Piers To Last
Вставка
- Опубліковано 24 сер 2019
- Here are some Questions and Answers I wished I had asked before digging deck piers. Hopefully this helps sum it up for you so that you can build a deck that will last a lifetime.
Fast forward to 2:13 for a mansplain about what exactly "frost heave" is. - Навчання та стиль
You should have added a little concrete to that water. :) Great video! Thanks for the info.
LOL, right.
Just to let you guys know, "mansplaining" is the act of a man explaining something.
Concrete is very alkali and will dry out your skin bad. Don't go out of your way to put your arm in it. Mix was too wet if that much water pushed up.
I was thinking the same thing. Most people wear big long rubber gloves if they have to touch concrete, you definitely don't just go stick your entire bare arm into it.
You explained it really well with the drawing! Thanks
Thanks for the presentation. Although others have already spoken about your cement mixture being too thin, as in watery, it weakens the concrete. Also, once cement is mixed up it needs to be poured within a certain amount of time otherwise it weakens the concrete. Read the bag of cement to find out all about your product. Another thought, at least for the DIYer, is to use the ‘Big Foot system’ which gives a more effective pier foundation. Check it out, you might like it. Also, rent a cement vibrator, it works much more effectively to remove bubbles. The pros use it for a reason. Just say’n. 😂
Not a builder here. I have the same size deck and thinking of using three 10"x48" piers with the "Big Foot" polyurethane footings as a base for each pier. They're designed to be used with various size tubes. These footings are filled with concrete as you file the tube. In the long run piers probably have a significantly less chance of sinking because the Big Foot can be 20" diameter up to 30" inch depending on the size you pick. Probably get away with smaller piers and maybe even fewer piers. Good video. Soupy concrete though.
I'm a big fan of rocket books and frixion pens too, was neat to see someone else using them. Thanks for sharing your experience with this type of foundation.
Thank you so much for keeping this simple! I was about to pull my hair out with all the different opinions out there.
Good demo, thanks. I hope that young man rinsed his arm off good, I got some nasty burns when I first worked with concrete. (It’s PH is 13!) And be sure to let it cure properly before subjecting it to a big load. Enjoy your deck!
I instantly recognized one guy who doesn’t do a lot of outdoor work, he was wearing white tennis shoes :-)
That is textbook filling a footer for decking. Good job I hope the deck job worked out
im doing a fence great tips about using the tube to lessen the frost heave. I'm going to do that i have dug 4 feet down but the frost line is really 8 feet in my area but most builders say 4 feet down is ok for fences
This is helpful! Thank you.
Thank you for posting this. This is great. Question. I too have a hill. Do the laterals also need to be as deep as the depth of the pillars? In other words because of the deccline on one side, does the space between the hill and the side of the pillar need to be equal to the depth of the pillar?
Great video! In planning a pavilion, going to use round logs ( pine) any ideas or suggestions on how to mount the logs to the concrete footer thanks
I would think some kind of expanding bolt that drills into the footer and that also pushes up into the log would work
Great video!
Thanks for the videos. I have a question on deck footers. I’m building an elevated deck and plan to have exposed aggregate concrete patio below the deck. My deck footers will be 12” sonotubes 42” deep. Because the look of the concrete footer tops will be different than colored exposed aggregate slab, I’m afraid it’ll look ugly. So, how do I hide the top of the footer? What kind of interface should I have between the footer and slab? Thanks!
Just bury the footer 1" below the height of your patio and pour the patio over footer. That could give you the desired look while still having the strength below
Thank you infinitely! HareKrishna.GodBless❤️🙏😀
Great job sir ,thanks for sharing your project with us !
Nice project, the cement mix seemed a bit watery - any reason you needed it that way?
I thought the same thing. He had his entire arm in there like it was split pea soup thickness.
I thought I was the only one who runs handrails all the way to the ground? Good job
Didn’t you know, everyone behind a screen is an expert?!
My problem is a wet hole on bedrock at 48 inches(below frost line here) I'm going to drill the granite for rebar...and possibly dry fill the concrete for about 6 inches to displace the water before the wet mix... yippee
People, you should follow the building code of your municipality esp when deck is raised. It is the safe and required way to do it.
Tremendous theme song. I could probably hook you up with one of those tv competition programs. When you go there, there’s free food. (Not for your whole crew though.)
Boom! Perfect, thank you for the info. Great video.
Built a firewood storage shed in Connecticut
I feel bad for the guy who ever tries to remove that.
60” deep I poured my piers ^shape the tops while the concrete dried to help water run off the exposed tops with the mushroom technique and 1/2 rebar. Have fun digging those up if they ever need to be 🤦🏻♂️😂
Good channel
I can't take advice from a crew that doesn't fire the guy who stuck his arm in the pour.
If the concrete was properly mixed, he wouldn't have been able to get his arm that deep. The concrete was WAAAY too wet.
This is most intelligently helpful video. Brother, thank you for the superior technique to support heavy loads and solidify structural support. Great job!!!
Amazing "mansplaining" about the effect of frost on deck footings.
How long after pouring the footings before I can start setting my posts? I thought I was gonna do it 24 hours later and I ended up jerking the j bolts loose. Am I supposed to wait 5-7 days? Or 28 days? Or should I have been able to do it the next day?
I would think it depends on the product used but a minimum of 24 hours would be good and perhaps as much as 7 days
If done correctly with the right weather conditions you should be able to add bolts within a couple of days.
i would wait for 7 days.
Anyone who can use google knows 3 days minimum, and a week generally to be safe.
What’s the benefit to the rebar. When do you determine if it’s necessary in deck piers?
It helps prevent cracking and movement of the cement. Arguably you probably don't need it but I would rather over-engineer than under
I hear ya. I’m planning for 4’ elevated deck with pergola, so I’m definitely interested in over engineering. I’m in Dayton, so thanks for the “local” frostline info 😎. Who Dey!
@@SpiritofaHandyman technically it's a concrete pier. Concrete is made from cement, agregate and water.
Something else to remember if you are pouring a slab with rebar, concrete holds up well under compression but not tension. The rebar helps with tension. So you would typically put the rebar in the area on the outside half that you expect it to crack, hope that makes sense.
@@rodjohnson646 :) there's always one.
Thank you for the video, I really appreciate you taking the time to share this. Im trying to add 2 rooms to my house for my kids. The entire addition should be about 24x30. How many concrete piers do you think would be enough for a 24x30 building? I live in texas, and the frost line here is less than a foot. Would it be ok to only dig a foot deep? Also since it would be less concrete, do I still need to use rebar? Thank your in advance for your help, it means a lot for someone who cant afford to hire anyone
Great question. What you need to determine is the safe bearing capacity of your soil. Check out this article to see what that means: civilread.com/safe-bearing-capacity-soil/
Then you will need to determine how wide you need your piers to be based on the safe bearing capacity. Read this article to get a better understanding: pro.homeadvisor.com/article.show.Footing-Fundamentals.13700.html
If this is a major addition to your home it may be worth the money to consult a geologist or structural engineer before you begin to make you you have the correct number of piers at the correct width to hold the load of your building. It wouldn't be good to complete the build and a couple years later have it sink into the dirt after a particularly hard week's worth of rain
That’s so nice for you to reply and help!
Would you recommend rebar for a pergola post concrete footing?
Yes
Whats the name of the the metal things above the concrete? Pd: nice video!
4-in x 4-in Triple Zinc Wood to Concrete (Cast in Place) Base
@@SpiritofaHandyman so you applied that while concrete was wet
@@Okorokanze2000 correct
Nice work !! I like it !
Do I need to add rebar if my pier does NOT extend above ground?
I don’t think so
I remember back in the 80's the old navvies working on site wading through freshly poured concrete without proper PPE. Quite a few of them would be rushed to hospital with chemical burns. Obviously things have changed since then... Judging by the way your man was elbow deep stirring the concrete without protection, the concrete you guys are using must be more chemical free compared to back then!
Its not though lol.
That was a very amateurish move.
Good job on depth, big footing and rebar, but horrible job mixing the concrete!! lol Way too wet. Loses strength.
6:33 wtf was that sound!? 👂
What is this slump? 48 inches???
No, you have to look up the IRC codebook online and figure out your square footage of your deck, pick a PSD load rating 50/60/70 depending upon Live load and snow load, then figure out your ground type which determines how much weight your pier can support( normally 1500 lbs/sqft for poor soil), then figure out how many piers of x size (12, 16, 18,24", etc), then look at your max joist and beam spans and reviews piers and the weight they will support and decide if you want more cheap piers for lower beam/joist lumber $$, or fewer piers and more expensive beam/joist lumber $$.
Guys without college do this, so its not rocket science. It is however quite easy to guestimate wrong and have it start sinking or falling down after a couple of years.
Not to mention his concrete mix has 3x more water than needed.
Yea- absolutely no reason to guess there is plenty of information to do a deck properly to CODE!
Just catchit and Jack it up. I've lifted over 40 houses
posts not centered on deck pier. One of them is actually hanging off it on one side. How to repair this without tearing everything apart?
It’s his handrail footer I think
Can this work for my tiny A frame (700sq ft)?
The same principle applies, but you would probably want to use a lot more footers to support the additional weight of all the construction material
u can. but you need to size footers based on your loads: put more columns or make them bigger and most likely you will need combine both options. also you should know maximum allowed spacing for the columns: your house drawings should tell that. it is very easy to size footers if your drawing specify spacing and load on each. also you need to know your soil type: if you did septic test - just look soil type on depth of your frost line.
Looks too wet a mix. Am I right? Most other videos, to include concrete manufacturers, show a stiffer mix.
It looked stiffer in the mixer but I think the weight of the cement pushes all excess water out the top of the tube. It has held up fine but if I was doing it again I would definitely try to cut some of the excess water out of the recipe
I build decks too, pour a lot of landings for stringers and pour a lot of footers, your mix may seem a little dry but water will always rise to the top no matter what
for deck it is not big deal. but, declared concrete strengh will be achieved in recommended mix only: changing proportion of anything (including water) weakening final concrete strength. For deck it is not big issue: u will never have loads to brake it from regular use.
Is there a rule of thumb for how many pier footings you need for a structure? Every 6 feet? Every 8? We're looking to build a cottage/shed that's 12x24x16 and so far are planning on every 6 ft 12" piers, but wondering if that's overkill?
It totally depends on the soil type where you are. The more rocky it is the less piers you need. The looser the soil the more you need.
@@SpiritofaHandyman Based on a pretty old soil survey of the county, looks like the words, silty, clay, loam, gravelly loam pop up a lot. From working on it, it seemed to be pretty easy to dig up when dry (cuz it's the desert after all), and when it rained, it's hard getting the dirt/mud/clay mix off of your shoes even when scraping it off of a cattle grate?
@@kaeli The best thing to do is to contact a local geologist or engineer to take a core sample in your yard and give their expert advice. Without that advice, I would definitely air on the side of putting in more piers than fewer
@@SpiritofaHandyman Thanks :)
NEVER add this much water to your concrete. It needs to be thick and well mixed. The ratio given on the bag will be close, perhaps TOO think and if so... just another cup of water will likely make it just right. A soupy pour makes for weak concrete. Fun video yet often incorrect. I will stop now. Thanks.
OMG, that’s waaay too much water. Crazy.
@@R50_J0 overall this is a helpful video by yeah, the amount of water in the mix is absurd. that will have a negative affect on the strength of the piers
Also don't mix with your arm! Cement is caustic.
i never knew mixing with too much water makes it weaker thanks for advice
No! You did say this is how to do it right! That's why I clicked your video... :-) thank you for the information it was very helpful! Labor is not cheap and cheap labor is not good! For some reason I keep forgetting that when I hire someone hahaha no it's really not funny but I really appreciated the video :-)
my suggestion is to NOT use concrete but to use four foot long screwpiles. use a skidsteer to screw them in, then back them up one turn so that they are settled in place. Build the deck on top of them, it will never move.
can you post a link of which product you specifically recommend? That sounds like a great alternative
@@SpiritofaHandyman I've gotten quotes from Technometal Post and the other big name, and they are a bit expensive. I think 12 8000# helical steel posts was $4k. However, its done in an afternoon and guaranteed to hold, whereas any concrete post can sink. I can get someone to dig me the same number of 12" holes with a skidsteer for $800+, then add in 100-150 bags of concrete or try to get a pump truck out here and fuss with the city and leveling for I think $2500....
They are great ... The price is NOT.
A post concrete and time is around $150 each... The bobcat and accessories alone are $600 per day.
Waaay overbuilt for the typical residential deck. Properly installed concrete piers are more than sufficient and cost effective
Dude got on white shoes? Was he just walking by and asked to help?😂😂😂😂😂
That’s too wet. Use an SDS drill to vibrate the sonotube if you don’t have the correct tool
Get/rent a tractor or skid steer with an auger = saves your/anyones back
What was that moaning in the background at the 6:34 mark? lmao
lol, that must have been my newborn while I was doing the voice over for that clip
its a baby, you id1Ott
Was that moaning at the 6:30 mark??
Ppl. Check with your codes in your county. Especially if decking is higher than 36"
I can’t believe he stuck his arm in the form 🤦♀️ well, I was able to see his red neck 😅
that looks really soupy for concrete.....
Way too much water in that concrete but good gob otherwise
To much water on the mix makes it weaker,that is not a good mix for sure !
trapezoid shaped hole, deep enough to go below your area's frost line - tamp down, add 3" gravel, pour 'crete. no need for sonotubes, they're expensive these days (for what they are... giant toilet paper rolls.
great posts without embeded locked in steel attaxhment plates- which 90% would have done. You drilled and bolted them in.
when they built the Greek parthenons and columns they used lead instead of rebar , they still are standing today ... lead won't rust as rebar over time does, just and engineering perspective that amazes me to this day , Slava ukraine . may your next build be enduring as Jesus. peace and have a great 2022 .
Fiberglass rebar is best
@@vanderumd11 never seen that before
is it same as for boats?
Too much water
You are confusing as what is the pier and what is the footing. The pier is the tube and the footing is what the pier is sitting on. The size of the footing depends on the load and the soil bearing pressure. The live and dead loads are dictated by code.
Learn the difference for pier and footing, the pier rests on the footing, hello!!
"How To Build Deck Piers To Last"
...hammers rebar into ground where it'll rust and fail early.
Water/cement ratio was way way off. As a designer of a couple yards of concrete, I was rather unimpressed. Weight of the concrete pushes the water out? WHAT? Sorry, not true. I agree on some ideas but that concrete tech tip is valueless. Bottom line, keep the wood away from the concrete, keep w/c ratio as low as practical, use admixes if you want more flow (it IS what they are for) and if possible, use more cement to the bagged mix to "sweeten" it up if possible. They are often fairly lean anyway.
Make a DIY video, Don.
That’s the wrong way to batter concrete,to much water will make weak concrete you will have a cracked post eventually ,water has to be exact there are directions on each bag of cement or in any builder book ,sorry !
Too much water on your concrete! And I’m supposed to educate myself from this content!?!?