Sonotubes

[Pettrix]

Has anyone poured/used a 12" diameter Finish Free Sonotube?

Looking to pour a column that is 10 feet tall and 12" in diameter and the Sonotube forms allow for a clean finish. I know bracing is vital as is vibrating but just wondering how difficult the process was and how well the removable forms worked?

Finish Free(R) - Sonotube

 

[4570Man]

I don’t claim to be a concrete engineer but 10 feet tall seems like a lot to ask from a 12” column.

 

[duffer]

I've used precast columns several times with good success. Because they are circular, they are strong. The ones I used were hollow in the middle and carried a bunch of weight from a front porch roof. Might be less expensive to use those instead of pouring a solid concrete one, with yardage minimums, vibration rental, labor and hassle. A good lumber yard will have several to choose from depending on your application.

Just my 2¢.

 

[Diggin It]

I'm pretty sure a 10' vertical column is going to need more forming than a 3/8" cardboard tube.

 

[fruitcakesa]

I'm pretty sure a 10' vertical column is going to need more forming than a 3/8" cardboard tube.

This x2, A guy I know poured 6 foot tall tubes with "some" lumber bracing and it was a nightmare scenario with tubes leaning and even falling.
I saw it after the disaster so I don't know how much support the tubes actually had...beware

 

[Diggin It]

Comes out to a little over 1,000 pounds:

Concrete Calculator

13 80 pound bags.

 

[dodge man]

I calculated 1.16 cubic yards of concrete which is more like 4000 pounds if my math is correct.

 

[Diggin It]

Look at the calculator link above for a 1' diameter and 10' height.

 

[dodge man]

Your correct. The formula is pi times the radius squared times the height. I used the diameter of 12 inches instead of 6 inches.

 

[Diggin It]

Your correct. The formula is pi times the radius squared times the height. I used the diameter of 12 inches instead of 6 inches.

A radius of 12" (24" diameter) gives you 4,200 pounds, or 52 80 pound bags.


But either way, I wouldn't consider it without extensive exterior bracing and a rebar cage to be embedded.

 

[crashz]

I've used the old style Sonotubes for piers ranging from 4-6 ft without issue. The new ones seem easier to strip. But they always seem to be oblong or out - of - round.

The literature states they are designed to be placed as the form. But I would use 2x4's along the full length, 90 degrees apart, box bracing and then bracing to the floor or surface to support the weight and keep it plumb. So essentially a form within a form.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I've poured 20' columns using sonotube. If they blow out, they will blow out at the bottom, so pay close attention to the cribbing at the base. The tube will stretch a little, which causes it to float, and once it starts you can't stop it. Don't try to dump it full all at once. Do it in 4' lifts, vibrate, do the next 4', etc. I would recommend using a crane bucket rather than a pumper, because it's slower, or just a couple of healthy hod carriers with buckets on ladders. One column is only 1/3 cubic yard, so a 1/4 yard crane bucket would nearly fill it in one dump. Don't do that. If you use ladders, the bracing has to be strong enough to accommodate that.