Telescope Reviews: CGE Pro coming home with me from NEAF

Hey Bobby,
FIRST OFF,do NOT jack up the OBS...sorry to all who have mentioned that but..not a great idea..MAINLY,because it will NOT be easy unless you own a couple of very good jacks and set them up properly and make sure the entire thing is level(I know thats not CRITICAL,but to me,IT would be..)..second because it will be a BIGGER PITA,trust me...and thats not even factoring in the rolloff problem...
YES,Conrete is VERY messy making/pouring/leveling or whatever else you are doing with it...AND it is EVEN messier to tear down..UNLESS you do it RIGHT AND have a water hookup on the saw..OR at least someone to hold a hose and spray directly behind the saw..THAT alone will turn a ton of dust,that will make the neighbors think you have a fire or something going on,down to a sloppy mess easily cleanable with a GOOD shopvac..IMPO,best option is to simply cut to height and add new pier adapter connections..
Back to advice..Bobby,
I am not sure if I missed it somewhere,what is the diameter of your pier now?And what kind of Rebar system is in there?
If it is a cage type (ring type rebar tied to standard rebar down the length of the tube..)then you will have to cut at least through all the rebar..
If it is simply a couple of rebars going down the tube(some tie thier all thread or J-bolts to it as well..)
then you will STILL have to cut past the Rebar

NOW,onto things you dont already know

If the saw does not go through all the way around(i.e.MAX depth on a 14" saw is somewhere around 6-1/2" maybe a hair more..)
I would definately score the concrete all the way around..maybe 3" deep,or more but you will eat up blades the more you cut,but will make the rest of the job much easier..
After scoring,take the saw at ~45deg angle DOWN into the pier attempting to reach the original "scoring level"..basically like how you would take down a tree(if you have ever done that...lol)...
The purpose is to create a place for the concrete to"give".
After scoring and cutting your angle go to opposite side and give it a couple of good whacks with a sledge...this SHOULD do it..aftre the top is gone:
Most you should have to do is some more cutting/chiseling to get a fairly flat surface..

Now,here is my main concern..
Why are you cutting DOWN,to build BACK up..?
I am sorry as apperantly I have missed something somewhere..

If it is to simply add a new "pier hardware" into fresh concrete..then I may have a solution for you...

I see this used ALL the time by Masons who need to add more concrete to an existing structure..i.e.,my company is currently building our 32nd Wallgreens.After the initial Slab is done and the building is going up they still have to level around the front and build the entranceway "sidewalk"..the do this by drilling horizontally into the existing slab and doing:
There is an epoxy(commercial grade of course) that is in a caulk tube,I dont know if a place like Home Depot will carry it or not..check with your local supply wharehouses(here in FL,we have places like:Hughes,HD-Supply,GreyBar etc..) for it..I am SURE it is not cheap like a tube of silicon is..
You drill holes as deep as you need,and then clean them..a good shop vac with maybe a piece of flexible tubing duct taped to the end(like "sealtight",its a flexible electrical conduit used outdoors for things like pumps,water main sensors,etc.),this will give you a "smaller" hose to get into your holes and get as much sediment out..and THEN pouring full of water to allow sediments to flow out..this will give you a clean bonding surface.
FILL with epoxy and put you Rebar(OR you could EVEN use All-thread or whatever you are planning to use to adapt to your pier top plate...I would put bolts on the allthread all down the allthread to give it that EXTRA secureness when the epoxy is finished curing..!!)
This stuff is NOT your normal epoxy..TRUST me.If it is good enough to suppor walls and slabs,it will be MORE than sufficient enough for what we would need it for..

This way,you could merely cut your pier to your desired height and just "sink" you new materials into the top..it will cut your workload in half as you will not have to design your new structure,mix and pour your new concrete..IMHO,worth it...

You will want to get the top fairly flat,but that would be merely for cosmetic purposes..or you could still drill a couple of more smaller holes,buy a bag of mortar mix,and simply "shape" a new top..you wrap the tube with flashing material at an inch or whatever your new height will be,that will give you your level and you simply fill to the top and trowel the top to smooth it out..

Your idea of drilling holes is a GREAT idea and is exactly what needs to be done to support your new structure.I just dont understand why you are going about this,this way...please let me know,I am very curious as to what you are trying to accomplish..

Thanks,
Brent

BTW,I STRONGLY suggest lining your walls in painters plastic..this will keep the "mess" from getting your walls,which might not be so easy to clean up..