Concrete block decking piers.

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Yorkshire Kris
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Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

Anybody used these? Seam to be readily available in Usa and Oz but only found 2 suppliers in uk one very expensive the other very expensive delivery.

I want to use them rather than digging loads of post holes for a decking walkway.
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Arlon Tishmarsh
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Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Arlon Tishmarsh »

B&Q have them. For what its worth Kris, its an unnecessary expense imo. They'd have to be laid on solid, level ground to start with. If i've learned anything in all my years in construction ( i helped with the Ark... :lol: ) ...Do it once , do it right.
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Yorkshire Kris
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Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

Arlon Tishmarsh wrote:B&Q have them. For what its worth Kris, its an unnecessary expense imo. They'd have to be laid on solid, level ground to start with. If i've learned anything in all my years in construction ( i helped with the Ark... :lol: ) ...Do it once , do it right.

I thought it would be no more expensive and much easier as no need for mixing conrete ot posts as I could put joists straight into the slots on the contrete pier. Like these..

http://www.supremeconcrete.co.uk/genera ... d-dekpost/



On second thoughts the ground I intend to put the walkway is where there are a lot of tree stumps so flat ground is an impossibility. I have loads of round wooden bollards (rounded posts) so could I fix joists to these?


The joists are 4.8m by 145mm by 45mm the bollards are 90cm.
Kristen

Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Kristen »

No idea if relevant / appropriate, but you can get get cardboard tubes for forming concrete. Dig a hole,place cardboard tube in it (and above ground up to height of timer work) and pour concrete into the tube.

I used 4" drainage pipe here under the "feet" of my pergola. Got the pipe spot-on level and then filled with concrete,and put the uprights of the pergola on those (on some metal stand-off feet so that the post bottoms don't rot)
Kristen

Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Kristen »

Sorry, forgot the link:

http://www.defendapack.co.uk/concrete_f ... tubes.html
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Yorkshire Kris
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Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

I think a few photos are in order to show what I intend to do.
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Arlon Tishmarsh
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Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Arlon Tishmarsh »

Yorkshire Kris wrote:
The joists are 4.8m by 145mm by 45mm the bollards are 90cm.
Depending on how far apart you set the joists, a joist that depth/thickness (145mm x 44mm) will have a clear span approx 3m to 3.5m (ish). As its 4.8m long, you defo need to put a support mid span, otherwise you'll get a lot of "bounce".
Personally i'd stick with timber supports in the ground. It'll give you more leeway when leveling your joists thru, providing you leave them all a few inches high and then just trim them down once the joists are fixed in.
Even with mid span support, you're only looking at eight post holes.
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Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

Arlon Tishmarsh wrote:
Yorkshire Kris wrote:
The joists are 4.8m by 145mm by 45mm the bollards are 90cm.
Depending on how far apart you set the joists, a joist that depth/thickness (145mm x 44mm) will have a clear span approx 3m to 3.5m (ish). As its 4.8m long, you defo need to put a support mid span, otherwise you'll get a lot of "bounce".
Personally i'd stick with timber supports in the ground. It'll give you more leeway when leveling your joists thru, providing you leave them all a few inches high and then just trim them down once the joists are fixed in.
Even with mid span support, you're only looking at eight post holes.
That's good to know. I though that they would need supporting every 4-5 foot along their lengths?
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Arlon Tishmarsh
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Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Arlon Tishmarsh »

Scroll down to page 12 and 13 on this link, it'll give you a better idea of spans etc at varying loads. Bare in mind these tables are for stress graded construction timber but it'll give you a good idea of what your timber will support.

http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/d.pdf
jungle jas

Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by jungle jas »

Kirsten, that looks like an inexpensive way of making round concrete posts especially with some reinforcing steel in the middle. icon_thumright
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Yorkshire Kris
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Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

Kristen wrote:Sorry, forgot the link:

http://www.defendapack.co.uk/concrete_f ... tubes.html

They look a good idea but in this instance I'm trying to avoid having to make a lot of concrete up. I'm looking for the easy and good solution if that's possible. I can get these for around £6.50 delivered.
http://www.wrekinconcreteproducts.co.uk ... lay-layout


No need for making concrete or digging lots of holes or even posts as joists can sit right in them. My issue would be level areas for the concrete piers to sit.
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Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Arlon Tishmarsh »

Yorkshire Kris wrote:
Kristen wrote: I'm looking for the easy and good solution if that's possible. I can get these for around £6.50 delivered.
http://www.wrekinconcreteproducts.co.uk ... lay-layout
Same as the B&Q one's . Personally i wouldn't use them for reasons stated before. If your ground isn't solid , they will start to sink, especially with the weight of use / traffic and then you're back to square one. They rely on a wide footprint to spread the load.
Imo, they are the equivalent of what Metposts are for fencing, in time the fence goes over / leans...............
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Yorkshire Kris
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Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

Arlon Tishmarsh wrote:
Yorkshire Kris wrote:
Kristen wrote: I'm looking for the easy and good solution if that's possible. I can get these for around £6.50 delivered.
http://www.wrekinconcreteproducts.co.uk ... lay-layout
Same as the B&Q one's . Personally i wouldn't use them for reasons stated before. If your ground isn't solid , they will start to sink, especially with the weight of use / traffic and then you're back to square one. They rely on a wide footprint to spread the load.
Imo, they are the equivalent of what Metposts are for fencing, in time the fence goes over / leans...............
The concrete piers are around 30cm across so the same size are when you pour contrete in holes for posts so I would have thought gave the same stability?
fieldfest

Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by fieldfest »

when I make decking a paving slab / breeze block is sufficient to spread the load.
decking.jpg
If its higher I put a 4" fence post on top and attach to a joist

you can kind of see in this video at about 2m57s
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Arlon Tishmarsh
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Re: Concrete block decking piers.

Post by Arlon Tishmarsh »

Yorkshire Kris wrote: The concrete piers are around 30cm across so the same size are when you pour contrete in holes for posts so I would have thought gave the same stability?
No, because with posts you dig down thru the softer top soil etc into something more substantial.
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