SEPARATE GARAGE (RCA BARN) CONSTRUCTION Page 3

Squarish pier hole...The BX22 backhoe is getting a pretty good workout.  I figured about 6 tons of dirt was excavated for the 10 piers.  The metal pole in the pic at left is the depth guide for the sonotubes.

15Mar:  Sonotubes are in the ground with dirt packed around them.  The trick to keep from moving the sonotubes was to replace the dirt in increments, a little at a time on each side.  Pack it down then move to the other side.  You can see the batter boards and forms in this picture.

Next step was to get the rebar and start making the pier reinforcement "cages".  Trip to local Home Depot snagged me 30 #4 20 footers and 10 #3 20 footers (show on my car hauler).  Prices were decent, in fact, better than local steel suppliers.

Pictures at right show the cages (in and out of the sonotube holes.  The picture at right shows one of the forms with a 1.5in notch cut out.  This allows the 4in section of the form to sit on the sonotube while the 5.5in sections span the area between the sonotubes.

Please go to Page 4