Thinking of building an outdoor pier

[Craig a]

1 hour ago, Rusted said:

Turnbuckle is the term used for fencing strainers and pole stays.

I found a picture of my carport foundation blocks.
It might offer inspiration. They sell for about £16 each over here.

 

 

To be honest I’ve never ever seen anything like that in England, and I think I’m just going to bite the bullet and build the pier, well not build the pier because I’m buying one pre made I will be just pouring the concrete and bolting it down, so watch this space 

[skybadger]

I've said this before, but sinking drain pipes into the garden to the clay layer, filling with concrete and a mortar bolt gives you a removable and very steady base to put a tripod pier on. You can pull the drainpipe out later if you can pull harder than the water suction of the soil. 

I happen to have a pier on abs that I used like this for a long time. Rock steady!

[newbie alert]

You have a few choices, personally I don't think the fence post is a good one..  when i built mine a friend suggested to over engineer rather than under... if you under engineer you can't add on to make it more stable,  you have to start from scratch again..and if it shifts under load or wind then it's useless

So I've got just under a cubic m of concrete on mine and it's solid as a rock.. job done, sorted  no need to think about it again..

[Craig a]

I’ve made the hole slightly bigger now to 18x18 inch and 700mm Deep put some rebar 12inches deep at the bottom of the hole in the corners and 12 inches poke into the hole that should stop any movement if there is any but I doubt there will be 

[Craig a]

So here is the hole 

it’s a start 

 

[mikeDnight]

3 hours ago, Craig a said:

So here is the hole 

it’s a start 

 

That's perfect! Don't doubt you're doing the right thing, as it will greatly increase your observing joy. You'll only have your tube assembly to attach each time you observe, and if you cover your mount with a canvas garden chair cover, it and any electronics will never get wet. Whatever material you choose will be better than no pier.

Edited February 2, 2022 by mikeDnight

[jacko61]

If you keep your eyes open, there'll be an altair  cg5 / eq6 mount adaptor coming up in the for sale section soon as I now have an eq8.

Graeme

[CCD-Freak]

I recently built this Todmorden pier at my SRO dark site and I finally took some pictures with a scope on it.  I will be painting it white soon now that the weather is warming up a bit.

 

 

Edited March 6, 2022 by CCD-Freak