Mike Guertin’s tip on using old metal ducts for pierfooting forms is a good use for something that might end up in a landfill (FHB #216). I’ve got another concrete-forming method that I think is equally worthy.
For the past 20 years or so, I’ve used wire mesh (or chicken wire) to make a form cage. I wire the seams together, then line the inside with tar paper to hold the concrete. I have made such forms as high as 4 ft., and I used this method to make tapered footings long before Bigfoot forms came on the scene. This method has worked like a charm, and it’s inexpensive.
J . Kaye, Phenix, VA
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #221
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I like it, especially that you pointed out you could make the bottom bigger than the top!