Here in Vermont we often pour concrete footings and columns in one monolithic pour. The drawing shows how I build the forms for such a pour.
I start by cutting a 2-ft. square piece of 1/4-in. OSB or plywood for the top of the footing form. Then I cut a hole in the center of it that is just a pinch larger than the diameter of the Sonotube column form. Next I nail on 1×12 sides, followed by a pair of 1x straps that are parallel to one another on opposite sides of the hole. These straps are nailed to the 1x12s. Another pair of straps runs perpendicular to the first pair, as shown in the drawing. Now I insert the cardboard form and tack it to the strapping from inside.
This rig can be built ahead of time, lowered into place as a single unit, leveled, plumbed and backfilled before the pour. I install vertical rebar after the pour. If horizontal rebar is called for, I wire a grid of them to the inside of the box.
—Robert F. Hausslein, Andover, VT
Edited and illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #88
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Isn’t Easier to just use a bull dog base. You can backfill before you pour and nothing to build or take apart