SkyShed Pier

I decided on a SkyShed Pier steel pier to be concrete mounted. Corresponding with owner Wayne I settled on their largest — 8″ in diameter. It arrived a couple of weeks after ordering. Wayne suggested ordering a Losmandy G11 Pier Adaptor rather than having them make a custom G11 mounting head — it would work as well and be a little cheaper.

It’s big and very sturdy. Heavy enough to be hard to lift. The bottom is drilled with 4 holes for securing to concrete.

There is a heavy adaptor plate that fits on the top and can be rotated. 3 side bolts will secure it against the pier once rotated into position, and 3 long double-nut bolts between two sections allow for leveling of the top surface.

To mount the G11 head, the top plate will hold a Losmandy G11 Pier Adaptor. The holes in the top plate didn’t match the adaptor, so I drilled a few extra in the right spot.

The adaptor is secured with a main centre bolt and several counterbored socket screws.

The bottom will be secured to the footing by J-bolts set in the concrete. To establish their spacing and hold them while the concrete dries, I made a wooden form drilled where the holes in the pier base are. The form will sit in the concrete this way, with the heads of the bolts up. The 1" thickness of the wood will prevent the bolts from sinking into the concrete too far.

The J-bolts are just 8″ long bolts bent at the ends. They will be pushed into the wet concrete of the pier footing and the “J” section prevents them from being pulled out once the concrete sets.

To prevent the wooden form from adhering to the concrete, I covered the underside with waxed paper, pushing the J-bolts through after taping the paper in place.

This is all set — the next step will be the concrete footing, with the J-Bolts installed.