I need to replace both of the picture posts, both of the footings are cracked. I was going to break out the footings and replace the posts. Whats the easiest way to attach the posts to the footings, There is a base that goes into the concrete when its wet and a post that bolts to the footing. It seems that the bolt down base would be the easiest. How long would I have to wait once I poured the concrete to bolt the footing base down? Is there a better way?



Update- old footings out, new ones poured, with the new post plumb there is approximately a 5/16 gap at the top of the stringer. Should I shim it? Put it together with and not worry about the post being plumb? Suggestions? The stringer isn’t plum .

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Valpo Fz,

Replace the concrete footing but don't bury the post. Place the post on a base lie below to keep it from rotting out.

The easy way is to repour the footing first. Let cure for a couple days and then drill in an expansion anchor. Secure the Post Base to the expansion anchor and then set the post.



Simpson Adjustable Post Base

quote:

Originally posted by ugeesta:
Replace the concrete footing but don't bury the post. Place the post on a base lie below to keep it from rotting out.

The easy way is to repour the footing first. Let cure for a couple days and then drill in an expansion anchor. Secure the Post Base to the expansion anchor and then set the post.



Simpson Adjustable Post Base

I have used this as well, but in response to your question (rightly or wrongly) I have only ever taken up part of the old concrete unless it was literally crumbling, in which case it all needs to come out. Taking the rotten wood out of the center is imperative, and all of it needs to come out. I usually only go down a foot or so into the concrete if it is in decent shape, and leave the old concrete below that point.

Where the old post was I pour fresh concrete to the bottom, and then top it off with the above post mount, making sure the wood does not contact the cement.

Last time I did it, I replaced a post exactly like yours. Removed the rotten wood, made up some instacrete or whatever it was called, put some small battens around the existing concrete and filled the hole all the way to the top of the battens. let it go off for a while then put one of these into the concrete:



Waited until the concrete completely set, then installed the new post.

Under ideal circumstances you should wait a week for the concrete to get to 75% of its compressive strength.

Thanks guys! I haven’t done a lot of home repairs because I always owned newer houses so it was just maintenance.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
Under ideal circumstances you should wait a week for the concrete to get to 75% of its compressive strength.

For a deck post ? They don't even wait that long for a house slab .

How deep should I make the footings? The old ones were around 30” deep.

I had a similar problem 25 years ago. To get in the back door, I had to go up a few feet to the deck. The builder of that deck went cheap. He just used boards for the risers, and attached the steps to them with 2x2s. It would hold me, but not the safe we wanted inside.

Lucky for me, I had access to a bunch of butt ends of 6x6s. I used pavers to support them, then trimmed each to the length needed to reach the center of each step. My logic was someplace near 36 sq inches was plenty. I have no idea how much force it would take to compress a 6x6, but I'd guess its a bunch.

quote:

Originally posted by Valpo Fz:
How deep should I make the footings? The old ones were around 30” deep.

The footing should go below the frost line. I had to do mine at 36" .Depending on how far down your ground freezes, it could be deeper or not as deep. I used sona tubes and #4 rebar.

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:

quote:

Originally posted by Valpo Fz:
How deep should I make the footings? The old ones were around 30” deep.

The footing should go below the frost line. I had to do mine at 36" .Depending on how far down your ground freezes, it could be deeper or not as deep. I used sona tubes and #4 rebar.

That’s what I thought and our frost line is 40”, now I am going to have to dig the holes about 20” deeper...grrrr.

I would recommend that you put a bolt in the wet cement and then you won't have to drill a hole. These J-or L anchor bolts should be available wherever you get the post hardware.

You can eyeball it to make sure that it's plumb.

quote:

Originally posted by Valpo Fz:

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:

quote:

Originally posted by Valpo Fz:
How deep should I make the footings? The old ones were around 30” deep.

The footing should go below the frost line. I had to do mine at 36" .Depending on how far down your ground freezes, it could be deeper or not as deep. I used sona tubes and #4 rebar.

That’s what I thought and our frost line is 40”, now I am going to have to dig the holes about 20” deeper...grrrr.

Given your first picture, it's the wood that rotted, not the concrete that heaved. I wouldn't worry about going any deeper.

Mercury is correct about the bolt. That's exactly what I did, once the concrete had set for a couple of hours.

^^^^ You can do that but the problem is making sure the J Bolt is in the right location. Can get really frustrating if not.

Below is an article on how to install a post using sleeve anchors in the concrete footing. This way the post connection can go exactly where you want it to be.


How to Install a Deck Post

Thanks guys, Ill throw some progress pictures up. Got the old footings out. Got the hols dug a bit deeper and one form put in. Going to get the other form put in after lunch.

The project continues.