Concrete Deck Pier Video

Video - Concrete Deck Pier

This item was so good, I featured it in my June 19, 2016 AsktheBuilder Newsletter.

Below is the transcript for the above video.

Hello, I'm Tim Carter of AsktheBuilder.com. I want to talk a little about the piers. Specifically, about the forms to create them. Check these out.

I'm using this 12-inch diameter top and a base that flairs out to 18-inches. It is called Form-Footer and it is really an unique system. It comes as a kit and you just snap it together without the need for tools. It even comes with the reinforcing steel already cut and already bent. That is an enormous time saver if you are DIYer.

The base is 18 inches in diameter, then there is a reducer collar from 18 to 12 inches. The tower is two sections that snap together and the top is a ring that holds it all together and has two supports for the top of the rebar. In the base, the reinforcing steel is in a cross pattern, then there are two vertical bars. The vertical bars are held in place at the top and bottom for proper alignment during concrete pouring.

If you need to go taller, just add additional tower sections in case you need to set the base deeper into the ground due to your frost level.

Why is this form so much better? In the old days, you would have first pour a pad in the bottom of the hole and then use one of those cardboard tubes for your form. This needed extra time as the pad would have to dry for a day before you added the cardboard tube and arranged the rebar inside the tube. That all took time. This system is already to go right from the box.

Level the soil at the bottom of the hole, place this form into the hole, put a little dirt around the base to hold it plumb and you are ready to pour. Check into this system on your next deck or shed project. It is easy and quick, and no cutting of steel with a hack saw.

The next video will show one of these just set into the hole and a second one with the dirt around the base waiting for the pour.