Good morning!!!!

[RedNeckGeek]

There was a video on YouTube of a guy building a pole barn. He did the preset measurements, using a builders level to fill the holes with concrete to a certain level. When he went to put all the posts in, only one was off by an 1/8 inch. He then used a string to keep them all straight, just as you described doing.

For the rebar, could you use, say a 6 ft section, and just push it down into the base amount of concrete? That way the posts have support all the way up out of the hole. Use the string method to line them up. Wire or heavy string could be easily anchored from the rebar to the surrounding surface to hold it in place.

yes, steel post for garage. I cut about 4" sections of a larger diameter pipe in half and welded a piece 3-5' rebar at angle. I set 3 around each post check and recheck level. Vision a tripod around the post.

Thanks for the ideas, guys. What about a mashup of them all?

Embed 3 rebars in that first foot of concrete, 120° apart, and long enough to come about a foot out of the hole. Let the concrete dry. Then install the post, wrap a ratchet strap around the upper ends of the rebar and tighten it so the rebars bear against the post. Leave the strap loose enough so that the post can still move, but not easily. Then use the level and string to get the posts in the right position and plumb. Tighten up the ratchet strap to prevent further movement. When all of them are in the correct position as verified by string and measurements, start pouring concrete, maybe just a couple feet in all of them at first, checking position and level during that pour. Once that hardens, the posts should be pretty much set. Check and measure again, and adjust rebar/ratchet strap if necessary. Save about a foot for the last pour, and cut the rebar off with a pair of bolt cutters a few inches below the surface. Then finish the pour.

Think that would work? It would be easy enough to try out on one post first to see how hard the rebar could be made to grip the post. Could be that the two pieces of steel just couldn't be made to not slide against each other. Or it could be that the rebar is too flexible to provide much support.

I think the first thing I need to do is get all the dirt piles from the augering cleaned out of the way so I can see how accurately the holes were placed. And I think that's the part that makes me the most nervous now, since I know that there were rocks in several of the holes that pushed the auger to the side. Once the dirt is gone, I can get the stakes and string out and see if I can get a grid centered over the holes with the right dimensions. That would be a good job for today.

Last status update from FedEx shows the generator in Portland, OR at 9:23 this morning. Google sez that's 8 hours and 36 minutes away, so there's almost no chance of them getting it here by their still projected 5PM delivery time...:muttering:

 

[RedNeckGeek]

If these were wooden posts, it would be easy to just nail a pair of 2x4s at 90° to each other, then stake the other end down so that the post is supported in the correct position. But it's hard to nail into a steel post. How 'bout this idea:

I've got a bunch of 90° shelf brackets laying around. If I screwed one to the end of a 2x4 and bent it to a 135° angle, I could use the ratchet strap to hold the pair of them to the post. Maybe even use a little duct tape to give them more grip. Then put a stake out near the other end of the 2x4, and use a drywall screw between the two to try different positions until the post is plumb and properly located. I'd still use the first foot thick pour to control the height of the post, and maybe use the rebars, too, so I could pour a little at a time and not worry about trying to do too much at once.

 

[Looking4new]

Last status update from FedEx shows the generator in Portland, OR at 9:23 this morning. Google sez that's 8 hours and 36 minutes away, so there's almost no chance of them getting it here by their still projected 5PM delivery time...:muttering:

Can you not 'light a fire' under their butts to get them to move a little quicker? Facebook posts seem to make things happen.

I've got a bunch of 90ｰ shelf brackets laying around. If I screwed one to the end of a 2x4 and bent it to a 135ｰ angle, I could use the ratchet strap to hold the pair of them to the post. Maybe even use a little duct tape to give them more grip. Then put a stake out near the other end of the 2x4, and use a drywall screw between the two to try different positions until the post is plumb and properly located. I'd still use the first foot thick pour to control the height of the post, and maybe use the rebars, too, so I could pour a little at a time and not worry about trying to do too much at once.

That might work. You could go the Red Green route and use all duct tape to hold them. )

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

If these were wooden posts, it would be easy to just nail a pair of 2x4s at 90° to each other, then stake the other end down so that the post is supported in the correct position. But it's hard to nail into a steel post. How 'bout this idea:

I've got a bunch of 90° shelf brackets laying around. If I screwed one to the end of a 2x4 and bent it to a 135° angle, I could use the ratchet strap to hold the pair of them to the post. Maybe even use a little duct tape to give them more grip. Then put a stake out near the other end of the 2x4, and use a drywall screw between the two to try different positions until the post is plumb and properly located. I'd still use the first foot thick pour to control the height of the post, and maybe use the rebars, too, so I could pour a little at a time and not worry about trying to do too much at once.

The shelf bracket idea sounds relatively simple to use. It would get the job done and probably easier to adjust if needed.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

There was a video on YouTube of a guy building a pole barn. He did the preset measurements, using a builders level to fill the holes with concrete to a certain level. When he went to put all the posts in, only one was off by an 1/8 inch. He then used a string to keep them all straight, just as you described doing.

For the rebar, could you use, say a 6 ft section, and just push it down into the base amount of concrete? That way the posts have support all the way up out of the hole. Use the string method to line them up. Wire or heavy string could be easily anchored from the rebar to the surrounding surface to hold it in place.

Here is a quick sketch:

I used my transit to leveled a piece of rebar in each of my pole barn holes, poured footer to same height for all holes. I also calculated based on top of pole being at correct height so I wouldn’t have to trim any off, and get maximum pole in the ground.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Good morning. I thought I would let you all know that winter is still here. Eric asked for a snow picture a few days ago. This is looking out the gate, we have about 2 feet on the ground. The drift behind the fence is over 5 feet. The low this morning was -20 below with a 10 mph breeze. It's going to be sunny with a high in the low 20's today.

I have been staying busy doing a few things around here. I put a 2 and half inch pipe on the cutting edge of the snow blower. It has made quite a difference in blowing the driveway. Also put a thermostat bypass heater hose on the Polaris ranger. I should have done that when I put the heater in it.

I have kept up with everyone. Everyone with building projects, I hope everything goes well and doesn't end up in Seattle. I hope that everyone feeling under the weather gets better and stays that way.

Hope everyone has a nice day.
CWB.

Been wondering how you were doing. Thanks for popping back on!!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I hope those who slept poorly last evening gets some nap time today and still pull off a project or two.
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I would but management frowns upon it

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Thanks, Ted, I'd thought about doing it that way, but in this case, each pipe is either 10' or 12' long, and would need to be driven into the concrete 5'. But the biggest concern is that the rails being supported require fairly accurate positioning of the posts, both laterally and vertically. I can fudge the vertical by leaving the posts long and "adjusting" them with a power band saw once the concrete sets, but if they're off laterally, the rails won't run straight. So I was hoping to get all six of them set before pouring any concrete, using strings strung between stakes to ensure that they are all in the correct position.

I also gave some thought to an initial pour of concrete to pre-set the height, with a couple pieces of rebar left sticking up to tie them into the rest of the pour. Just not sure how to reach down into that hole 5' to place the rebar.:confused2:

Pipe with concrete just poured around it and nothing under it is not a footer. If a footer is required, it needs to be under the pipe before the pipe is placed. A pipe or pole with just concrete around it can push down with enough weight to overcome the side friction.

With that said, local solar farm just pounded pipe in the ground, no concrete at all as far as I know. Thousands of panels.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Depending on what time you get up in the morning (my case it was 3), a mid-morning nap will do the same as a mid-afternoon nap. Supposed to reduce your chances of a heart attack by 50% if you do it twice a week. So using that reasoning I should NEVER have a heart attack because I have a nap every day.

good logic

 

[hawkeye08]

Wife just came home for doc appt and errands. Good news on her foot, torn tendon that is healing fine.. just takes time. She'll be good as new soon..