Explain concrete sonotubes to me

[Rustyiron]

We have 20 foot snow loads some years. All built to code.

 

[LouNY]

I have used sonotubes before, what we did was dig the holes a few times with a backhoe once with an auger truck, the auger truck was a 24" auger and worked very well, with the we poured 8" of concrete in the holes with rebar bent in 90's sticking up in the centers, we formed boxes with the backhoe holes and then did the same, then the sonotubes were set on the cured bases with rebar and poured to the desired final height, at that point it is just a nice form to hold the concrete, then shove a pole base plate into the wet concrete.
In our use the sonotube is just a form to set on a spread footer, with the spread footer being below frost grade.

 

[Snobdds]

View attachment 551860

That's not often, but it did happen in 2011, we are after all in a mountain range called the "Snowy Range Mountains". We probably had 10 feet on the ground this year.

This is my neighbors webcam and his little story pole for feet of snow is in the picture if you look close. It maxes out at 7 feet and and was buried by January. He is in more timber than I am, but it serves as a pretty good record of snowfall. As of this post, were down to about 4 feet. Should be able to drive in by the middle of June.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I was raised in NW Wyoming. We would get 15 feet of snow, but the wind would blow it away so we never had much more than a couple of feet at any time. But go up a few miles from the house and this was the standard