4/9/2024 0 Comments Lowes concrete blocks![]() ![]() The deck blocks can almost always be handled by one person.It’s important to realize the pier blocks are small and offer the least amount of support most decks require. There are more cons to concrete deck blocks than there are pros. It’s a minimalist approach to supporting a deck. Just as you pull on the cap to expose the pen, you can lift up a deck off the blocks. ![]() Concrete lugs on the block act like the sidewalls of a pen cap. A wood deck support post fits down inside the concrete pier block. Precast concrete piers must be set with a crane or backhoe on the job site.Ĭoncrete deck blocks are very crude and resemble the cap you might have on a cheap ballpoint pen. They cannot, however, be simply placed at grade level.ĭeck blocks are not to be confused with real concrete piers that are either precast and weigh hundreds and hundreds of pounds or with piers you cast in place using precut rebar reinforced plastic forms that can easily be placed and handled by the average person. They must have a sufficient bearing area (the area of the block that sits on the earth) and be a minimum of 12-inches below grade, or below the local frost depth. They’re subject to all of the same requirements as a typical footing, regardless of not being cast-in-place. What are Concrete Deck Blocks?Ī deck block is in many ways just a simplified version of a “precast foundation,” a foundation type recognized by building codes. ![]() Perhaps the biggest drawback to concrete deck blocks is their limited potential as you never want to bury them in the ground thus causing potential rot issues with the wooden deck posts. They are just one option for support deck weight and come with certain pros and cons. Their purpose is to spread out the extreme concentrated loads at the bottom of wooden deck posts onto strong soil. I have made concrete using vermiculite for crash cushions that weighed about 40 pounds per cubic foot, but I could seriously dent it with my hand.Concrete deck blocks are primitive building materials that look similar to children’s toys that snap together to build things. The reference to lightweight is that concrete can be made with rock similar to lava rock that makes the concrete light weight due to all the voids in the rock, and that concrete can be made to weigh as little as 80 pounds per cubic foot, but would be very expensive and very tricky to work due to the high absorbsion of that type of rock. When it comes time to fill the voids, the concrete must be a thick liquid, which means 80 pounds is about 0.55 cubic foot mixed. Bag cement used to be sold in 94 pound bags, which were defined as one cubic foot dry measure. What may be referenced on the bag to 80 pounds equals 1 cubic foot is dry measure in the bag with all the air between particles. Putting these together in the form of concrete, will give a weight of about 140 to 150 pounds per cubic foot mixed. KariI don't know what kind of lightweight concrete they have in the bags at Lowes, but cement has a specific gravity of 3.15 which means it weighs 196 pounds per cubic foot solid volume, and most of the sand and gravel that they would use is mostly silica with a specific gravity of 2.65 which means it weighs 165 pounds per cubic foot solid volume, and the only other ingredient is water which has a weight of 62.4 pounds per cubic foot. ![]() I used TXi manufactured "Maximizer" for my puddle and they (=TXi) claim that each 80lbs bag equals to 1 Cu.ft. As far as how many bags one would need, you may want to check out manufacturer's site to be sure. ![]()
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