Pouring footings & piers

[secordpd]

Just thought I'd start this thread so maybe it will help others also...

I hit water at a little over 3' deep when i dug my holes, surely I can't be the only one on this site that ever did that

How did others deal with this?

1) Did you dump dry mix in to suck up the water, stick in some rebar, then pour your piers after it set, or

2) Mix up the dry mix in the water then, while still wet, pour piers so it's like a single pour?

Please someone, anyone, I need help,             I will be finished digging today (hit sewer pipe-did not break ) so have to redig 2 holes, and would like to start on cement work tomorrow.....

Thanx ahead...any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Ernest T. Bass]

Did you hit a spring or is it just ground water? During most times of the year, any hole dug on our property will have water drain into it from the top 6-8'' of soil. For piers, we sucked the water out with a shop vac and removed as much saturated clay from the bottom of the hole as possible and then poured our concrete rather dryish. If your water is coming up from below then I'd imagine you might have a bigger problem on your hands..

[rocking23nf]

do you have a septic tank on this property? this could be the drain field from your septic tank.

[secordpd]

I'm in a low area next to a pond, yes, it's the water table. When they were putting in my water line they were hitting water. 

  I know this is low area, I'm very close too seacoast, so at sea level.  This property has been in family close to hundred years, never flooded, but know I have to build on piers, which is quite common in this area.  At the beach here, all houses have to be built on piers now.

Yea - I did suck some of the water out of one hole with shop vac but it was more trouble then it was worth, easier to just keep using post hole digger til I get to depth i want.

The building inspector, thinks hitting water like this is no big deal, esp. for this area.  He said just dump in dry mix for footing...

Just wondering if it would be stronger as a single pour or double pour...

Thanx for replys so far,

If others don't want to reply because of liability, thats fine but I don't know how anyone could get sued from posting on a forum, esp. if you don't claim anything other then personal opinion & FWIW...

[rwanders]

Concrete will set up just fine under water----test cylinders are cured while submerged in a water bath. As you pour, much of the water will come to the top and it would help to remove that if possible.  What is more important is to get down to as solid a base as possible----especially if you are in clay soil

[diyfrank]

I did what your inspector suggested.  I dug down till I had good bearing soil. It had 2-3" water in the bottom of a few holes.  I pored in dry concrete and stirred it up. I then threw in some steel and added 2 more sacks Premixed on top. Doing it as Glenn suggested, Poring your sono tubes. Then lifting them to allow concrete to flow under sound like a good way to do it to me if I were doing sono tubes. 

The water isn't a big deal, but be sure your not poring on top of bad ground.  When in doubt, probe it.  you can stick a piece of rebar in the bottom of the hole (vertical) and lean on it. If it sinks more than 1-2" I would keep digging if your in clay. If your in clean sand I wouldn't worry at all. You said everyone in the area has the same water and soil and they build on piers. I would go on with it and not look back unless you think theres something different about your situation.  I'm kind of assuming you have the right size and number  of piers and depth of holes.

[Beavers]

These drilled shafts were poured with water in the shaft.  The concrete displaces the water as the shaft is filled.

If you pour the footings and the piers at the same time it will be stronger than two separate pours with a cold joint in between.

These concrete and rebar filled shafts support the pier footings of a 625' long bridge truss section, so the same method should be plenty strong for your house.  
BTW- I'm pretty sure that this was just a standard mix of concrete.

[secordpd]

Thanx guys, I feel better now    

One more thing, what size rebar and how many? 

I'm going to buy a cement mixer tomorrow and take my time for each pour..

I'll post pics and let ya know how it goes, again thanx alot!!

[Ernest T. Bass]

Generally 1/2'' rebar in and "X" or "#" shape about a couple inches from the bottom of the hole. If you are going to be forming concrete piers w/ sonotubes, then wire a vertical strand or two into that as well, connecting to your "X" and running right up near the top of the tube.