[TowerTalk] Pad and Pier Foundations

Fred Mott fredmottcpa at earthlink.net
Thu Jul 7 17:06:03 EDT 2005


I recently installed new guy anchors using a smaller concrete pier poured at the same time as the foundation.  I had my 10 year old grandson (with the guidance of my son-in-law) dig the holes with a back hoe.   For the foundation I built a concrete form using 5/8 green drywall and laid some extra rebar on the top of the drywall where the rebar cage extended up for the pier.  On top of those rebars I laid a sono tube (circular concrete form, trade name SonoTube).  I also packed dirt around the drywall forms before the pour.  The hole was filled with concrete slightly above the lower form holding the sono tube in place.  Then the concrete was poured into the sono tube with the guy anchor extending out.  I also had a couple of levels handle to keep the sono tubes perfectly vertical.  View the following site for a picture of a concrete pier constructed with a sono tube http://www.allchurchsound.com/ACS/edart/sono1.html.  You may also use google to search for sono tubes.  I purchased my SonoTube from a concrete business.  They come in different diameters and lengths and they be cut to length.  The day after the pour, I covered the the lower foundation with some of the extra dirt.  I am leaving my sono tubes on for at least 1 year so the concrete will have a long and slow cure for extra strength.  The top of the sono tube is covered with a white plastic sheet to retain the moisture.  To protect my yard I had the cement truck park on the street and the cement was transported by a concrete buggy.  


More information about the TowerTalk mailing list