5 VIDEO CONCRETE PIER TOUR*

In this video tip I show you my favorite way for making a deck foundation

This is a concrete form here, a concrete pier. I like to go 12 inches in diameter

which is fairly large but it allows you to align your posts properly, gives you

some leeway. This is a metal post saddle. It fits into the concrete. This is the

cardboard tube. This is the black polyethylene plastic. Often omitted but pretty important if you live in a cold climate. You wrap it around the form tube

and it prevents something called frost jacking. The plastic goes all the way

down to the bottom of the tube and it makes the outside slippery. Frost jacking

is where frozen soil grips and lifts the concrete form tube but the plastic just

makes it too slippery. It's not going to be able to grip that and you're not going to have any chance of seasonal frost movement. The post saddle here is a

U-shaped piece of metal. It's very important that you choose one that's hot dipped galvanized. Many are not. Some are just plain steel, they rust like crazy and

even the electroplated varieties do not resist rust that well. Here in the center

you'll see a shaft. It's part of the post saddle and it sinks down into the

concrete holding it in place. The problem is it doesn't really provide a

whole lot of resistance to uplift. If your deck is high and wide or if you've

got a veranda roof over it, wind can can cause that to rise. So that's why I like

to drill holes for some expanding masonry anchors right here. You do this

after the concrete is fully cured and it makes sure that those posts aren't going

anywhere. Now the only problem here is that the ends of the bolts are going to

keep the post up off the ground, so you need to drop the post in place and mark

the spot. That will mark the spot where you can drill little pockets for those

nuts and bolts to stick up into. This is the carriage bolts that pin everything

together when the post is in place. They should be hot dipped galvanized as well

You slip the post in and then drill the bolt hole through after it's in place