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Ground breaking for pier

Stevp

By Stevp
in DIY Observatories

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Stevp

Stevp

Posted
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And I've hit a snag!

Well, more precisely, I've hit what appears to be a concrete base from a long since lost patio!

About 9 inch down and that's that.

Now I need to decide, do I start hacking at it and see how deep it is, or do I put my block on top and make the best of what I have.

The project is for convenience in setup, and I only intend to put a wooden pier atop with my eq3-2 and explorer 150p. No ambitious plans for anything better and no serious photography or such. My thinking is just get a base made on what I have and see how it turns out.

Does anyone have any really compelling argument as to why I should keep going?

huvyve7a.jpg7ysezeby.jpg

Cheers

Stevp

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Mukv

Mukv

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Greetings

Clockwork is correct with the method of drilling the existing concrete and adding bolts as extended reinforcing Thunderbolts are what we use at work for this type of situation but anchor bolts work just as well , try to have 100mm of bolt protruding into new concrete.

Andy

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fondofchips

fondofchips

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SDS masonry drill & a long masonry drill bit should find out how deep it is without too much effort.

Some threaded rod down the holes if the concrete is deeper & fill it in with concrete again, then fix your wooden pier to the threaded rod.

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Stevp

Stevp

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Thanks all, advice noted. I'll borrow daddy's SDS and put a hole in to see if I can get through it or if it's fairly deep. Next weekends project weather permitting. Good advice about bolts. If it's going to stay I'll set a few long ones in to key it together.

Wxsatuser, maybe a good reason not to dig it up, ignorance is bliss!

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Stevp

Stevp

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Ignorance may well be bliss if there are any pipes under there. Check before you drill.

good advice of course. I'm 99% sure there is nothing in the way of pipes and cables under there. The property is effectively in the corner of a field so can identify where the water and electric are presented, also well away from the drains. Here's hoping at least!

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Stevp

Stevp

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Could it be the slab cover of a rainwater soak-away? I'd be cautious before getting a hammer on it. Could be pipes draining into it...

Thanks Steve,

I'm fairly confident it isn't. Im 100% that there is no drainage from the house under it. I know where the electrics are joining to the garage, and theres no gas to the property. *Almost* certain i'm good and its just a boring concrete slab, but i just cant explain why it's there. Until we changed the paving and red gravel there has been a raised flowerbed there for probably the last twenty years.

My plan will be a very cautious hole with the drill first to assess depth, then sort of just wing it from there ;)

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Stevp

Stevp

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Was home in good time today so i took the plunge. After setting up the SDS and VERY carefully drilling a hole, I am pleased to report no surprises. No sparks, bangs, explosions, cracks or fountains, just boring concrete it seems. Having jumped up and down on it a few times first (scientific test for stability) i was a little surprised to finds its only a couple of inches deep at the most and was also fairly soft to the drill. I think i'll take it up and dig a little deeper. a8u3y6ap.jpg

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Stevp

Stevp

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Hmmm, this is proving harder than I thought! I think my pilot hole was in a 'soft bit'. I've dug a few holes a bit nearer to the edge of where I'm aiming and it seems a lot more solid. Had a go with the SDS on hammer with a chisel bit, very efficient at going through brick and such but isn't touching this. If life has taught me anything it is that if something is hard at first, just give up and go to Plan B :) so I'm going to get a few holes through it and set some big bits of metal rod in it. I'll end up with a block on top of this base that will be 10-12 inch deep and 22 inch square. That will have to do me!

uze8u2e3.jpg

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Stevp

Stevp

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And we have a pier base!

A quick run through of events....

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First we stood and looked at the hole for a bit and formulated "the plan".(brought in Dad because he's better at this stuff than me)

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Next we set 4 big fat bolts in to the existing base, hammered in to a tight hole drilled with SDS, they aren't going to be moving very far!

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Then we added another bigger bolt for good measure because we found it and created a shuttering box

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Sides of box back filled and mixer number one of cement goes in the hole. This is where we find we need to mix another load and we don't have any cement left! Momentary panic and then quick six mile round trip to acquire more cement.

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Box completely filled and then dad did something technical with some trowels to make it look nice on top

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Hole covered over for a few days to let it dry.

I think we've earner tonight's drinks and takeaway!

Total time for the base about 5 hours including the hole digging.

Total cost, 2 bags of cement, left over sand from a previous project, scraps of wood from the shed for the box and some old big bolts that have been kicking around for 15 years.

Next on to the pier itself.

Cheers

Stevp

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Stevp

Stevp

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Good job. Probably strong enough to tether a blimp to it judging by the size.........

If anyone has a blimp I can borrow for a day or two I'd be willing to try ;)

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Stevp

Stevp

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A bit late but would moulding some fixing bolts into the concrete be useful?

A much nicer job than I could do.

Chris

I did consider it, but decided that I will just drill it out and fix down to the concrete once it's ready.

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Stevp

Stevp

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First look at wooden pier progress, on the bench. That's two lumps of 8x4 cedar glued and stainless steel bolted. Just doing a little head scratching and blue peter-esque prototyping with bits of cardboard for the top.

emy9avav.jpg

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