Norm, I would LOVE to see pics of your pier creations....please?
Bob, as promised, the latest King of overkill creation...straight from the Brettski Engineering drawing board:
I plan on pouring 12" diameter concrete piers into the hard clay bottom. They will be reinforced with epoxy coated rebar verts and ties. A stainless steel anchor bolt will be set into the top (see pic). Then, these post anchors will be bolted to the top of the concrete pier. 6 x 6 treated timbers will be set into the post anchor brackets and lagged in from the side with 1/2" x 4 stainless steel lags (there is capacity for 4 lags per post...will probably only use 2 lags per post...c'mon now, really!) Before setting the post, I will locate the final position of the lag within the SS bracket base and countersink a hole in the base of the 6 x 6 to accommodate the top of the SS anchor bolt, washer, and nut. This way, the 6 x 6 will bear evenly across the base of the post anchor bracket.
The story on the bracket: I drew it up and submitted it to a metal fab shop near work. I told them I wanted to use 316 stainless between 1/8" and 3/16" thick. I hoped that they would have something in stock for economy...they understood and made an offer for some 1/8" they had in stock. I accepted. They programmed the laser and went to get the 1/8" stock...uh-oh...not there. He called me and asked if I would mind if they used 1/4" stock at the same price. I told them if they were confident that they could pull the bends on a 1/4" radius without fracture...hmmmm....OK.
Done.
If this interests you, let me know and I can e-mail the isometric view drawing.
