Hi guys, in hindsight maybe I should have approached this differently but here’s where I am and was wondering what you would do.
I am building a Pavillion and poured 2 12″ sonotubes (down 4+ feet to get below frostline) for the front 6×6 posts to stand on. I also want to create a concrete square pad around the sonotubes so I can surround the posts with brick to match the house (about 2 feet high so not a lot of weight on the pad). However, I’m now wondering what to do with the soil that I used to backfill around the sonotubes – do I use a hand tamper to pack it? Is that sufficient?
Mike
Replies
Too bad you didnt just pour a larger formed out footing that took the brickledge into account.
The pad really wants to be below frost line too or you will get heaving. Maybe you could dowel the pad into the sonotube to try lock them together but now you are getting into the type of engineering that I dont do.
Regarding compaction: The hand tamper will be fine as long as you compact as you go. Normally compact in 6-inch lifts but it also depends on moisture content of soil and the type of soil
Thanks for the quick response Steve. I guess I was viewing the pad like I view the concrete floor in my driveshed - 5" on compacted soil and no heaving after 10 years. Yeah I wish I had made this one big pour somehow. Will ponder the dowel idea.