Was all dat down de hole den?

[earth titan]

Just curious re all the metalwork down the pier base holes, before concrete is poured in? Presume to stop it moving?

[Bizibilder]

It all helps to tie the concrete into the substrate/soil etc.

[Gina]

And help prevent the concrete cracking.

[earth titan]

Makes sense. Ta.

I'm considering a pier, with an obsy to follow later.

Pillar to be a pier top on a concrete pier cast in a block and drain tube. Any suggested ratios of mix and mixed with what?

[Pug]

5:1 Ballast:Cement. Mix with a cement mixer, can be mixed by hand but if you're not used to manual labour it's hard work!

[Bizibilder]

Very hard work! And you have to mix it all in one "pour" - so unless you are used to hard graft get a mixer - you can hire them for a weekend. Also wait for the temperature to rise a bit - concrete doesn't set properly below about 5°C if memory serves correctly.

[Gina]

I used a mixer and it still took me all day to mix and pour concrete for the base and pier. Hard work too but then I did it all on my own and I'm the opposite of a strong young man

[earth titan]

Cheers folks.

Got the brick base in place and permission from the treasury

Probably going to be a 6 x 10 structure as I have the room. Going to build a shed with a roll off roof with warm room and obsy section.

Plans to be started over the hols. Got to finish the kitchen first......

[GazK]

concrete is excellent in compression but useless in tension. Steel is excellent in tension but useless in compression. A pier mount will experience compression on one side and tension on the other if it isn't balanced, e.g. when the wind blows or you take the OTA off your counterweighted EQ mount. Hence the mix of concrete and steel. In large structures prestressed steel and concrete is used together to give the benefits of both materials.

[Helen]

Good luck withy the build, its well worth the effort. I would say though that 6 foot wide is a bit narrow... if you can, go for at least 7 foot

Helen

[Gina]

My obsy is 8' x 14' outside with scope room and warm room. The scope room is about 7'6" square inside and there's by no means too much room even with just an ED80 scope. I'm glad I didn't go for a big Newt