Form stakes for extremely rocky soil?? Wood stakes just bust up when the sledge hits ’em
Pinkyringz
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
I’m pouring a slab and i’m wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks for holding formboards in place for concrete where the ground is extremely rocky. Where i’m going to pour the soil has A LOT of fist size stones in the soil so when i’m pounding my wooden stakes into the ground they hit a rock then bust up. It takes about 5 different attempts and stakes to drive one into place…i’m just wondering if anyone out in the world has an idea, tip or trick that could make my life a little bit easier!! 🙂
Replies
yeah, i'm not a pro, but i've used 3' x 1/2" rebar screwed to the boards with those galvanized pipe holders "two hole strap".....the ones with the 2 screw holes on either side of a half loop. or you could use the "j-holders" nailed like they use with pex.
hope it helps
They sell steel stakes made for the purpose that are predrilled for nailing to the form boards. I have evem seen them at Home Depot. Any place that sells rebar should have them.
and I have used old lengths of conduit. Its easy to drill a hole through to put in a couple of screws.
Steel form stakes only cost a couple of bucks each
Whether using metal stakes or wood, use a long, wedge or diamond point crow bar to "pre-drill" the stake holes. Stab it in and work it back and forth, repeat. The stakes only need to be firm which may not require too much depth. You can't drive a steel stake through a rock anymore than a wood one. Make a determination of how close you need to place the stakes by your success in getting them in and firm. Then backfill against the form boards with tamped dirt. Using a crow bar to make a hole for stakes reduces your work and increases accuracy in any type of soil.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SP101A10877S4543303101P?prdNo=20&blockNo=20&blockType=G20
Foundation pins
Steel stakes are callled foundation pins around here. As someone mentioned, you can buy them 2 HD & Lowes. Or, if you have a decent concrete supply company in your area, they rent bot forms and pins. For repeated useage i would purchase the, but for a one shot job, renting is the way to go. Buy 10 pounds of 8d duplex nails (double heads) and when you drive the pin into the ground try to align the holes in them to get two nails into the form board. Drive the pin flush to the top of the form and the screed can pass directly over them. Otherwise you have to bump around each pin as you screed.
When wrecking after a pour I use a madox and hook it under the head of the duplex nails, then slowly rock back on the handle. Do that a lille on each from board and the hole board will lift a little and you can the use the madox to jack the whole thing up and awy from the slab. Then pull the nails with a wrecking bar. If you rent the pins, now is the time to clean the nail holes out. Some places do check them for plugged holes and charge extra if they aren't cleaned up when they get them back.
What are the stakes at home depot called? i did a search for them online but can't find anything...i live in rural northern ontario so when i do make the two hour drive into the city i try to pick up all my things at once....i'm thinkin of making my own out of 3/4" rebar....drill 4 - 3/16" holes in the top of a 2' chunk of rebar....is this type of thing similiar to the ones at home depot? The slab i'm pouring is on my property and the whole area is like this...i'm building some cottages on my property (my retirement plan) about one a year and everytime i build my footings/slabs/etc. i fight with the damn forms. Usually i build about 15 24" x 24" squares out of formboard cutoffs and screw those to the side of the forms and fill them with stones so they dont move. They work but it takes a whole morning just to build the boxes....some stakes would definitely speed things up!!
I don't shop at HD,but here we call them steel form stakes
http://www.metalforms.com/steelCementStakes.asp
http://constructioncomplete.com/Catalog/Form-Stakes
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=concrete+form+stakes&_sacat=0&_sop=12&_dmd=1&_odkw=form+stakes&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313
form stakes
Around here we use what we call (I know this may offend some, but it is what we call it) a bull prick. It is simply a 2'-0" long, round tapered steel bar about an 1-1/4" dia. at the large end, slightly tapering to about 1" dia. then with a sharpened point. Being tapered allows it to be extracted fairly easily.
Hmm, a bullprick is hardened steel and being of larger diameter, has more steel, sio it seems that would be a more expensive way to go
Still cheaper than a surveyor's "gad"
I sent one of the kids that worked for me to the surveyor's supply for some flagging, plumb bob points, etc. He came back with everything on the list, and two new "gads" which are 3/4 X 2-inch hardened steel stakes, the same size as standard survey stakes. They cost $112 each.
Didja keep em?
Along a different track...
If you don't need an actual wall, you just need the foundation, there is another product that might would better for you.
What it is is essentially a horizontal Sonotube - it's a long laced bag with an open top. You dige the trench for it , place the bag with the steel rebar inside. The laceed top is what you fill it up to then screed flat.
No stakes needed.
These sack forms sounds interesting! What are they called and where can I learn more about them? I bought my very first aluminum "bull float" today...l am confident in all of my concrete work with the exception of the final finish trowelling or using the "whirlybird" to give my concrete that smooth-as-glass perfect finished surface....my next purchase will be a used power trowel.....thinkin of picking up a "SpinScreed".....i'm totally diggin' all the tips and tricks here!
http://fab-form.com/fastfoot/fastfootOverview.php
You see them pounding stakes, but all they do is hold up the bag and screed board. I think you could do the same with A frames over it to hold up the screed boards, since the lateral boards are the only ones holding "In" the concrete.
SpinScreed....I know the inventor/owner of the company. Very neat tool as well. Great guy. Lives a couple of blocks away.
http://www.spinscreed.com/
https://www.finehomebuilding.com/toolguide/product-finder/spin-screed-concrete-finishing.aspx