Wednesday, March 19, 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.

One of the main steps to prepare for the installation of a pier is through excavating the ground where such structures would be installed. The constructor should dig a trench, which is wider than the pier footings and not less than 12 inches deep than the frost line. Afterwards, you should then place the waxed pier fiber tubes into firm plastic footings. The purpose of the footings is to ensure that the pier does not sink into the ground.

After the digging work, you should then set the tubes and footings into the trench. These two should be set well to avoid problems that may result from poor setting. The footings should also be examined to determine whether they are in line with the local building codes within your area.

Once the footings and the tubes are well set, the trench should be refilled with debris as way to lock the pier in place. The footings should also be examined to determine whether they lie within the same level as pier. This is done to reduce cases in which your pier would develop problems due to poor construction alignments.

Afterwards, you would need to set a footing on top of the waxed fiber tubes. This footing is made to ease the work of pouring the material into the tubes. In most cases, people consider using concrete to create such footings due to it being strong and very durable.

The other essential step is the pouring of the concrete-based components into the tubes. It is advisable that when pouring the material, you keep mixing the materials after every 8 to 10 inches with a shovel to reduce the air that may have accumulated in such tubes. When you fill the tubes completely, you will then have to remove the footing and level the material using 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.

There are various steps in constructing a pier, which people should know of. The amount of work required in each step varies depending on the materials used. As a result, you should make sure you know how each step should be handled and the tools to be used. By doing this, you can enjoy numerous benefits since you would not need to worry of getting poor results due to using the wrong tools and techniques.




About the Author:



No comments: