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Rathji · 04-12-2008, 01:10 PM

-Tear out old deck
-Remove old concrete tiles

-Grade the soil so it's even and then pound it down?

Loam ( black dirt ) when disturbed cannot be packed down to adequately support any type of structure reliably. You must put whatever you are doing be it concrete piles, The spikey things people are talking about here into undisturbed earth - Which means 1-2 years or longer of not being dug up, possibly more if the area never recieves water from rain ( as water causes the coil to settle.

Clay ( the Yellow/ Brownish type dirt ) is better, but again if you gotta dig it up or are putting new stuff in do NOT count on it being supportive in a manner that is sufficient.

I would suggest using road crush ( 3/4 inch unwashed gravel that they put on gravel roads ) or alternately a mix or road crush/pit run to fill in any holes you create from pulling up old piling. It is probably cheaper, more supportive and will compact in a manner that will make it stable. Also it will be more resistant to water erosion so your deck doesn't have one of its new pilings settle and twist your deck.

-Dig 1 foot deep holes where I want the new support pylons to go

As I think has been said. 4 feet is the frost line. Put any posts down at least that far. I would use a bobcat auger but I have one available, a hang auger would get the job done just as well if your soil/clay is not extremely rocky. I have no idea what the spike things people are talking about but I am wondering if they will actually prevent heave due to freeze or if they are merely to prevent your deck from moving around. If it doesn't prevent movement due to heave then you might want to consider 4 foot post holes.

-Fill bottom of said holes sand and then fill in holes with gravel

Gravel around your pilings is a great idea. Again road crush or a mixture of pit run/road crush would work well.

-Place new pylons on gravel and build deck from there

Not sure what you mean by this to be honest. Are you planning on using preformed footings?

04-12-2008, 01:10 PM	#15
Rathji Franchise Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Supporting Urban Sprawl Exp:	-Tear out old deck -Remove old concrete tiles -Grade the soil so it's even and then pound it down? Loam ( black dirt ) when disturbed cannot be packed down to adequately support any type of structure reliably. You must put whatever you are doing be it concrete piles, The spikey things people are talking about here into undisturbed earth - Which means 1-2 years or longer of not being dug up, possibly more if the area never recieves water from rain ( as water causes the coil to settle. Clay ( the Yellow/ Brownish type dirt ) is better, but again if you gotta dig it up or are putting new stuff in do NOT count on it being supportive in a manner that is sufficient. I would suggest using road crush ( 3/4 inch unwashed gravel that they put on gravel roads ) or alternately a mix or road crush/pit run to fill in any holes you create from pulling up old piling. It is probably cheaper, more supportive and will compact in a manner that will make it stable. Also it will be more resistant to water erosion so your deck doesn't have one of its new pilings settle and twist your deck. -Dig 1 foot deep holes where I want the new support pylons to go As I think has been said. 4 feet is the frost line. Put any posts down at least that far. I would use a bobcat auger but I have one available, a hang auger would get the job done just as well if your soil/clay is not extremely rocky. I have no idea what the spike things people are talking about but I am wondering if they will actually prevent heave due to freeze or if they are merely to prevent your deck from moving around. If it doesn't prevent movement due to heave then you might want to consider 4 foot post holes. -Fill bottom of said holes sand and then fill in holes with gravel Gravel around your pilings is a great idea. Again road crush or a mixture of pit run/road crush would work well. -Place new pylons on gravel and build deck from there Not sure what you mean by this to be honest. Are you planning on using preformed footings? __________________ "Wake up, Luigi! The only time plumbers sleep on the job is when we're working by the hour."