When I build an arbor, I like to elevate the posts above grade on concrete piers. The posts last longer that way, and if they ever need replacing, they are easy to remove. Usually I make individual tapered forms for each pier, but this time I decided to try something different: plastic 2-gal. plant containers.
As shown in the drawing, I cut the bottoms off the containers and then inverted them over a pad of freshly poured concrete. Once the concrete set, it was a snap to pull the forms off. They stack neatly in the shed, so now I’ve got eight forms on hand for the next job. The resulting cone shape makes a neat-looking detail and is strong.
—Dan Jensen, Tigard, OR
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #103
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Nice. Also a good setail for Japanese -style building.
Great idea - except that attaching posts to a Simpson post bracket - which elevates the post above the concrete - is a much better way to attach posts for almost every application, and prevent rot. Modern PT lumber is not as rot resistant as the PT lumber our fathers used - thanks (Yes, thanks!) to the elimination of poisonous chemicals like arsenic. So embedding a new PT post in concrete or soil is a prescription for rot and failure.