scottbrrtt72
Bronze Member
Hi All,
I wanted to post this project I have been working on. We have a camp in VT that we go to with lots of friends. When it was built we used sections of telephone poles to keep it off the ground. The last camp we had was near a brook. One year during the winter thaw and heavy rains it washed the camp right down stream. So, due to financial reasons and what we thought was a good foundation at the time, we starting building the foundation. We rented a motorized hole auger from the local rental store. Come to find out the ground was rocky and soft in certain areas. Some places were extremely difficult to dig, while others were easy. So we did the best we could with the holes getting them as deep as we could. Little did we know they were not close to the frost line and there was no footing to help with weight displacement. Since we didn’t want to loose this camp to water we kept the poles 2 feet above ground level. The following spring, once the camp was complete, we noticed the telephone poles starting to shift. We did the best we could to brace them but it was just not good enough. The main 2x12’s the floor joist were sitting across started to twist and the poles looked like they were going to eventually tip over. It got to a point when we were lying in bed and someone came inside, the camp would shake when the door was shut. Very scary! So, we all threw around some ideas about jacking up the camp and putting in sonnet tubes. I didn’t think this would do the trick because of weight displacement. We need a footing and sonnet tubes. Concrete was our answer. I did some research and found out they make footings for sonnet tubes. I believe they are called bigfoots and they will fit about any sonnet tube. The other problem we had was how would we pour the tubes. We needed a lot of concrete and would it be cure the next day to rest the camp back down on? So I came up with the idea of pre-fabricating them, haul them up there, and put them in. Since I own a compact JD with a backhoe this was feasible. I started off with the sonnet tubes and the bigfoots. The bigfoots were expensive $17.00 a piece along with a $7.00 sonnet tube and the price of rebar. We needed at least 12 and money was tight. After making three of those and installing them we all agreed this was the way to go but how can we get away with this cheaper. One day I called the local Aggregate Company and asked them what they did with the leftover concrete. I was informed a lot of time they just dump it out. So I built a square form with a footing and asked if they could pour the waist when they have it. They didn’t mind at all. It was an inexpensive solution to a big problem. I made some new friends at the aggregate plant and now I have an open invite to concrete. I treat the guys good by buying them beer, food and coffee. I just finished building 12 more columns and they came out better than the sonnet tubes. Here are some photo’s to check out.
I wanted to post this project I have been working on. We have a camp in VT that we go to with lots of friends. When it was built we used sections of telephone poles to keep it off the ground. The last camp we had was near a brook. One year during the winter thaw and heavy rains it washed the camp right down stream. So, due to financial reasons and what we thought was a good foundation at the time, we starting building the foundation. We rented a motorized hole auger from the local rental store. Come to find out the ground was rocky and soft in certain areas. Some places were extremely difficult to dig, while others were easy. So we did the best we could with the holes getting them as deep as we could. Little did we know they were not close to the frost line and there was no footing to help with weight displacement. Since we didn’t want to loose this camp to water we kept the poles 2 feet above ground level. The following spring, once the camp was complete, we noticed the telephone poles starting to shift. We did the best we could to brace them but it was just not good enough. The main 2x12’s the floor joist were sitting across started to twist and the poles looked like they were going to eventually tip over. It got to a point when we were lying in bed and someone came inside, the camp would shake when the door was shut. Very scary! So, we all threw around some ideas about jacking up the camp and putting in sonnet tubes. I didn’t think this would do the trick because of weight displacement. We need a footing and sonnet tubes. Concrete was our answer. I did some research and found out they make footings for sonnet tubes. I believe they are called bigfoots and they will fit about any sonnet tube. The other problem we had was how would we pour the tubes. We needed a lot of concrete and would it be cure the next day to rest the camp back down on? So I came up with the idea of pre-fabricating them, haul them up there, and put them in. Since I own a compact JD with a backhoe this was feasible. I started off with the sonnet tubes and the bigfoots. The bigfoots were expensive $17.00 a piece along with a $7.00 sonnet tube and the price of rebar. We needed at least 12 and money was tight. After making three of those and installing them we all agreed this was the way to go but how can we get away with this cheaper. One day I called the local Aggregate Company and asked them what they did with the leftover concrete. I was informed a lot of time they just dump it out. So I built a square form with a footing and asked if they could pour the waist when they have it. They didn’t mind at all. It was an inexpensive solution to a big problem. I made some new friends at the aggregate plant and now I have an open invite to concrete. I treat the guys good by buying them beer, food and coffee. I just finished building 12 more columns and they came out better than the sonnet tubes. Here are some photo’s to check out.
