Saturday, March 22, 2014

How To Set Up Concrete Piers

By Luisa Sharpe


One of the best ways to increase your living space and enhance the beauty of your home is through construction of a backyard deck. When creating a backyard deck, you may need to first install a foundation pier. There are various materials used for constructing piers one of which is concrete. Constructing concrete piers requires a contractor to follow various steps to get their work done well.

If you decide to install a pier, you should start by digging the surface to meet the required standards. You would need to dig a trench that has a wider size than the footing and 12 inches more than the frost line. This should be followed by placing the fiber tubes and the plastic footings together to prevent the footings from sinking. This also boosts the strength of such structures since if sinking is avoided durability would be enhanced.

Another step should be setting the footings and tubes to the trench. In order to prevent potential problems, it is advisable to set the footings and tubes properly. It is also recommended that you check the footings to know if they adhere to your area construction codes.

In order to strengthen the structure in position, the trench should be filled by use of stone debris. You also have to inspect the footing to know if they are in line with the structure. The main reason for checking the pier for alignment is to avoid the potential problems, which can be caused by the pier and the footings not lying on the same level.

It is also important to set another footing onto the polished tubes. By installing this footing, you would be sure that the material can smoothly move through the tubes when poured. When creating these footings, manufacturers consider using concrete, as it is quite strong and durable.

the other step should be pouring the material into the tubes. To guarantee efficiency and remove the air that may have been trapped in the tubes, it is advisable to mix it well with a shovel after each eight to ten inches. After the tubes are filled, the constructor should then remove the footing and smoothen the material with a trowel.

Designers would then have to install the metal rebar or brackets. These are used to connect the pier to the deck. In order to ensure that your pier is strong enough, you will need to leave it for some time to dry and set. Afterwards, you would have to cut the tubing that is placed around the pier using a knife.

Various methods and steps have been developed for people to use when constructing a pier. Most of these steps require different amounts of work, which mostly depend on the materials used and the tools. Knowing these techniques would also enable you to know the most suitable tools that can be used for each step. In addition, if you know and use these techniques you will reduce cases where you are unable to come up with suitable structures owing to lack of the appropriate tools and skills.




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