Gina's Observatory

[Bizibilder]

Don't waste expensive perspex - just get a bit of plywood, put it over the studs and 'it it with an 'ammer!! Then drill the holes and check for fit!

(I love using a hammer!)

Btw the build is coming along nicely!

[malc-c]

Gina,

Sorry to hear that it hasn't quite gone to plan for you. When I did mine, I hammered a few lengths of rebar until it was around 6" below the top of the pipe. I then bent the ends of three 500mm lengths of stainless 12mm studding and bolted the other ends through the adapter. I then poured the concrete into the pipe and tampered it down, until it was up to an inch below the top of the pipe. I then lowered the lower adapter plate with the studding fitted into the concrete, giving it a slight wiggle side to side and up and down before letting it rest on the top of the tube. I left it like that for around three days before I undid the nuts and removed the bottom plate leaving the studding in place.

I know this is a little late as your pier is now in place... but hopefully anyone following your build thread might make note of it for their own reference

[Gina]

Don't waste expensive perspex - just get a bit of plywood, put it over the studs and 'it it with an 'ammer!! Then drill the holes and check for fit!

(I love using a hammer!)

Yes, I could use a bit of wood. Good thinking

Btw the build is coming along nicely!

Thanks

[Gina]

Gina,

Sorry to hear that it hasn't quite gone to plan for you. When I did mine, I hammered a few lengths of rebar until it was around 6" below the top of the pipe. I then bent the ends of three 500mm lengths of stainless 12mm studding and bolted the other ends through the adapter. I then poured the concrete into the pipe and tampered it down, until it was up to an inch below the top of the pipe. I then lowered the lower adapter plate with the studding fitted into the concrete, giving it a slight wiggle side to side and up and down before letting it rest on the top of the tube. I left it like that for around three days before I undid the nuts and removed the bottom plate leaving the studding in place.

Nothing I can't fix, fortunately. My rods are a metre long and M14. I thought of that method but thought it might be too difficult to get the rods to go down through all that concrete.

I know this is a little late as your pier is now in place... but hopefully anyone following your build thread might make note of it for their own reference

Yes, I've seen several different methods of holding the rods, I'd do it differently if I were to do it again (which I won't!).

[Gina]

Got my hole pattern done The wood idea led me on to something even easier - cardboard packaging waiting to be burnt. I just used a mallet to tap round the rod tops to cut through the cardboard - simple's (Blast those darn adverts!!!!!)

[George]

Been clearing cement out of the threads of the 4 threaded rods that protrude above the top of the concrete. And here I can give advice to those building a concrete pier... use something to protect the top inch or so of the threads from cement/concrete, because however careful you are, you are bound to get some on the threads. Several nuts or nuts and washers, masking tape or whatever or even a thick grease. Then you won't have to clear the threads afterwards. So it's a case of "do as I say not as I did"! <blush>

I've found also that despite my efforts to provide strong supports for the rods, a couple of them moved off station when I poked the concrete into every corner. Fortunately, I quite expected this and haven't yet drilled the holes for them in the bottom steel plate of my pier adapter. So I now have to copy off the exact positions in order to drill the steel plate with holes in the right places for the threaded rods. For this I plan to use a scrap bit of perspex (transparent acrylic sheet) and a marker pen. Then drill the perspex and check it fits, so I can use it as a template for drilling the steel plate.

I attached my pier head to the threaded rod before sinking it in the concreate, that way it was always going to be perfect.

[Gina]

Photos of the pier top and rods :-

1. The rods sticking out of the concrete (with nuts).

2. The cardboard template on the rods (and one of the rebars near the middle used as a reference for the rods).

[Gina]

I attached my pier head to the threaded rod before sinking it in the concreate, that way it was always going to be perfect.

Yes, that's a good way to do it Of course having a nice big and solid pier tube helps. My pier tube is both a lot smaller and only cardboard. I couldn't find any of the ducting tube.

[malc-c]

Gina,

If it was me, I would get that old mallet out and re-do the pier. IMO cardboard tube is not practical, it will draw out the water in the concrete, distort and the layers of paper that make up the tube will start to come apart over time. It also looks as if you have made the mix a little too firm (possibly to stop it leaking out of the many joints between the pots and tube), a loose mix will flow better and give you less air trapped.

I feel (not wishing to offend) that you are making things too difficult for yourself. Stick to the tried and tested format of using air ducting or plastic drainage pipe concreted into the ground, and use your adapter as a former for securing the studding.

[Freff]

Hi Gina

Just watched the unveiling of the pier. How is it looking.

[Gina]

Gina,

If it was me, I would get that old mallet out and re-do the pier. IMO cardboard tube is not practical, it will draw out the water in the concrete, distort and the layers of paper that make up the tube will start to come apart over time. It also looks as if you have made the mix a little too firm (possibly to stop it leaking out of the many joints between the pots and tube), a loose mix will flow better and give you less air trapped.

I feel (not wishing to offend) that you are making things too difficult for yourself. Stick to the tried and tested format of using air ducting or plastic drainage pipe concreted into the ground, and use your adapter as a former for securing the studding.

Bit late now Malcolm 'tis done! I've also now drilled the holes for the rods in the bottom pier adapter plate and it fits OK I think the reason for inaccuracies was that I was getting tired by the time I got to the pier and the light was failing. Anyway, I think it's alright.

I decided to take the cardboard tube off the concrete pier for two reasons. To see how good the concrete was and because it would become tatty anyway.

Photos of pier concrete from various angles (the dark areas are wet where the pier got rained on overnight) :-

[Gina]

Hi Gina

Just watched the unveiling of the pier. How is it looking.

I think it looks alright I thought it might not be from the top but it seems really solid.

[yesyes]

Looking good so far...

Are you going to remove the plant pots as well or do you leave them there?

[Gina]

Looking good so far...

Thanks

Are you going to remove the plant pots as well or do you leave them there?

I'm not sure, I'm wondering about it myself. I think it might look better without them. I think it looks better without the cardboard tube.

[Astrokev]

I think I'd be tempted to leave the pots on Gina. Getting them off could be tricky without damaging the joint with the pillar above (the pillar concrete seems to overlap the top of the pot), plus you don't know what the finish is like underneath. Structurally I don't think this would make much difference, but I worry that the finish quality won't look it's best. When the building is up, I'd try and smooth off the rougher bits of the pillar and then spray the whole pier - pots and pillar. Just my opinion.

Just as an aside, can you remind me why you opted to use plant pots in the first place? Was it that your tube wasn't long enough?

[Freff]

I think it looks alright I thought it might not be from the top but it seems really solid.

Solid... that's the main thing. The top can be tidied up with a little fettling with a 4" grinder, the rest can be wrapped in Xmas paper and made to look like a big roman candle. Just kidding.

If push ever came to shove you could at a later date coat the pier with unibond, wrap loosely a few layers of chicken mesh around the pier. Sleeve the whole pier with a piece of ventilating tube creating a void of 2" min all round. Then fill with a wet-ish fine aggregate concrete.

[Freff]

On reflection if getting hold of tube proves difficult, a simple oblong wooden mould would be just as good. The only difference is the finish would be square.

[yesyes]

I have a feeling we'll be getting a few new pictures from Gina soon .. ;-))

[Gina]

I think I'd be tempted to leave the pots on Gina. Getting them off could be tricky without damaging the joint with the pillar above (the pillar concrete seems to overlap the top of the pot), plus you don't know what the finish is like underneath. Structurally I don't think this would make much difference, but I worry that the finish quality won't look it's best. When the building is up, I'd try and smooth off the rougher bits of the pillar and then spray the whole pier - pots and pillar. Just my opinion.

Yes, I think I'll do that. No point in taking them off really - no point in looking for work I'll clean the muck off them though.

Just as an aside, can you remind me why you opted to use plant pots in the first place? Was it that your tube wasn't long enough?

I thought the tube was a bit on the small side and I thought that making it wider at the bottom where the most stress is would make it stronger. Trying to be too clever do you think?

[Gina]

On reflection if getting hold of tube proves difficult, a simple oblong wooden mould would be just as good. The only difference is the finish would be square.

Now there's a thought!! People use wood for scope tubes - why not pier tubes! I could have made a fancy octagonal one I thought of all sorts of round things and even square with rounded corners but not wood! I must be slipping!

[Freff]

I have seen an octagonal one here somewhere. If I hadn't gone for the steel pier then the octagonal concrete one would have been my first choice. It looks real classic.

[JCJC]

I think the pier looks good, leave the flower pots, they can be painted if need be, the upper part can be filled or even given a thin coat of plaster later, but I would not bump it to much at the moment, it needs to cure and maybe even need some damp sacking over it to stop it drying out quickly, Sunday looks sunny so no rush

JCLC' dad

[Gina]

I have a feeling we'll be getting a few new pictures from Gina soon .. ;-))

You could be right

I've got the bottom plate on the pier and levelled. Here are a couple of pics.

This is a smallholding - rustic is the norm... well... how about a rustic pier?? Nothing the previous owner built was square, not a lot we've built is square so why do I expect my pier to come out square?! Try as I might! Hmmmpff! ... Still as long as it works...

[Gina]

A bit off-topic in a way... Could I please have suggestions for software that will take the JPG files saved from my webcam and make a video? Preferably for Linux (Ubuntu) but Mac OS X or Windows XP as alternatives. The Video plug-in for GIMP looks like it's supposed to do this but I can't seem to find any info, and trial and error has not worked.

Thanks.

[JCJC]

A bit off-topic in a way... Could I please have suggestions for software that will take the JPG files saved from my webcam and make a video? Preferably for Linux (Ubuntu) but Mac OS X or Windows XP as alternatives. The Video plug-in for GIMP looks like it's supposed to do this but I can't seem to find any info, and trial and error has not worked.

Thanks.

imovie (mac) and movie maker (xp) spring to mind, Edit: Quicktime Pro as well as any video editing software, what you are looking for is 'time lapse video' making.

JCJC's dad