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scubaanddreams
super member
Reged: 11/24/08
Posts: 141
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Ok,
So i searched through the many internet resources of people building piers, and have decided that it seems easy enough to build one for me to go ahead and do so in my tiny backyard.
Only issue is that I am military and live in military housing; they have no issue with me doing just about anything I want in my backyard, however when I move out it will have to be removed (in 15 months).
Hence I am considering a wood pier vice a concrete pier (for ease of removal). I plan on mounting an EQ6 (Atlas) on it and saw someone that used the atlas extension as a mounting plate (I am planning on doing the same).
So with that, how hard would it actually be to remove a say 6" diameter concrete pier vs a wood pier (might as well call it a fence post...close enough:)). Has anyone had to remove theirs?
Thanks.
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My "Urban Observatory"
http://www.lamesaobservatory.com
La Mesa, Monterey Ca
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DanB
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 830
Loc: Pacific Northwest
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Hi,
I just did this with the orion pier extension, it worked out great for me. I would guess it would be just as easy to remove a concreted in wood post as it would be to remove the concrete pier alltogether.
You can send me a message if you have questions. I got my first new pier light last night, its the best unguided and polar alignments I have ever gotten.. I am really happy with it. Dan
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AT8RC astrograph
AT80ED refractor (guidescope)
10" Meade f4.5 reflector
8" Meade f6 reflector
EQ6 Skywatcher/Synscan
Meade DSI (Guide camera)
CCD Labs Q453 (Main imager)
Nebulosity 2
PHD guiding
"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual".
- Galileo Galile -
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Falcon-
sage
Reged: 09/11/09
Posts: 241
Loc: Gambier Island, BC, Canada
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If you wanted to avoid concrete all together and go fully wood you could, but you would need to dig a fairly deep hole and make sure the soil was very well compacted around it. A wood-alone pier would be easier then concrete to cut up and remove later.
If you live somewhere where frost-heave is an issue you could try attaching (strongly) some cross members to the post at the bottom of an appropriately deep hole. I suspect that would resist the heave in a similar way to a wide concrete footing does. Again, so long as the soil is REALLY compacted well. Probably would want to put in a small bit of soil at a time compacting as you go.
Normally one would want to talk about rot and such... but 15 months is not a very long time, especially for treated lumber.
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Tasco 11TE-5 'Lunagrosso': 4.5" Newtonian, 900mm f/7.9
Meade DS-2114S: 4.5" Newtonian, 1000mm f/8.8
Galileoscope: 50mm Achromatic Refractor, 500mm f/10
Tasco EQ-2-like mount w/ clock drive
Celestron CG-5GT mount
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scubaanddreams
super member
Reged: 11/24/08
Posts: 141
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Cemtrl California coast so frost is not an issue
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My "Urban Observatory"
http://www.lamesaobservatory.com
La Mesa, Monterey Ca
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Joe Hoener
journeyman
Reged: 02/26/09
Posts: 9
Loc: KS now, MA later
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It'll be relatively easy to pull a smooth-sided wooden pier, if it's not set in concrete. If you pour concrete, it'll conform to irregularities in the soil surface and the hole itself, and you won't be able pull it unless you have a large backhoe and logging chain.
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One never know, do one?
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Bob Moore
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/07/06
Posts: 822
Loc: New York
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What about something like this on cement
http://www.cloudynights.com/documents/pier.pdf
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A scope or two
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Billydee
super member
Reged: 01/23/08
Posts: 185
Loc: Winter Haven, FL
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Here is an interesting supplier of Pier Top Plates. He says they are compatible with Atlas and he shows a pier built with concrete using a Sonotube@. You might email him about the construction because it sure looks good.
http://www.pierplates.com/
Luck, Bill
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