Replaceing 6" x 6" post on a settleing pool deck.

Queequeg152

my mother has 4, 6x6 by 7' tall posts that hold up a porch that faces her pool. the pool deck on one side has settled in the past few years an inch or so, so now the deck is lower by a good bit on one side.

when the original posts were installed they were allowed to touch the concrete, so naturally they rotted... badly.

now ive read everything i could find regarding replacing these things. i have a handyman coming out to help me out, the rental place has like 15 jacks available... a shiny new hammer drill, and some new pressure treated lumber lined up at the lumber yard.

the only thing i cant straighten out is what to do with the post that lands on the now slanted pool deck? i appologise in advance for not posting a picture; ill take one when i get home. but the deck is at like a 3-5% grade now id guess.

im looking at these Simpson post bases, and it seems like they make no provision for slanting them slightly in any of the documents. im really curious to see how any of you have handled this problem, as it seems like it shouldn't be terribly uncommon. i was thinking of cutting the base of the post at an angle? something tells me that's not appropriate however.

http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/ABW.asp
im looking at this base, as it says it is adjustable.


and these caps
http://www.strongtie.com/products/co...E-LPCZ-LCE.asp



like i said, ill post some pictures when i get out of the office.

and thanks in advance for any advice you can offer, i really appreciate it.

joecaption

Really going to need that picture.
Is this a wood deck there resting on or concrete pad?
If it's a pad there not suppost to be sitting on just the pad, there was suppost to be a footing for them to sit on so they would not settle.

Queequeg152

they are resting on a concrete pad.

idk if its a southern thing, but down here call the concrete around the pool the "pool deck" its really just stamped concrete tho.

like i said, one post sits on one part of the pool deck that is now settling. the simpson strong tie i linked said it was adjustable. im thinking i could adjust it should the concrete settle further?

edit: spelling

TheCamper

The Simpson base you show is the one I typically use. It is adjustable as far as moving it around a bit if the anchor bolt is off. If the concrete is at a slope so great that the base is not close to level then I would probably try some stainless still washers, or other stainless material, to shim the base. If you are saying that the bases are going to be set at different elevations then I would just cut the new posts to length.

Usually you wouldn't bring the porch load down onto a slab on grade, even if you do not have a frost line, you would typically have a pier at least one foot deep, but I will defer to someone with local experience on the concrete depth.

Queequeg152

so just tuck a few washers under one side? is there a way to go about readjusting the pier should it settle further? its probably not worth worrying about im guessing.

im sure you are right about the pier footings. this porch was an addition back in the 90's. idk if the builder pulled a permit or not.


ill get a photo before i go to work tomorrow.

thanks for the info

Queequeg152

well, i tried to capture the apparent grade of the slab in the photo but i wasn't successful. its not clear from the photo, but its sloping away slightly.

anyway gong back to my previous post. i think just a pair of washers would pretty much take care of the problem. can i just place them under the footing and screw down the Simpson post footing? seems like that should keep them in place more or less.

joecaption

Has someone been weed wacking around that post?
If so I'd strongly suggest replacing it with a vinyl post or at least wrapping the bottom part with some vinyl lumber to prevent future damage.

Queequeg152

yes.

obviously not lately however.

i asked about "pvc trim" at the lumber yard a while back when i was replacing windows. all they had was trex decking lumber which didnt seem appropriate. lowes/ HD dosent have any pvc trim either. i ended up using hardi 4x3 boards.

couldn't i just paint some wood and plan on replacing it every 5 years or so.