"James Rivet" wrote in message
...
Well whatever you want to call these objects, basically you dig a hole
three feet in the ground stick them in the ground, they have a
connector attached to the top of them that stays above ground that a
four by four will connect to. ..
Are they ok to use ?

Maybe, maybe not- depends on the soil at your site 3 feet down, and your
tolerance for the deck settling. The most reliable way is a carefully dug
hole into undisturbed soil, a well-tamped bottom, and wet concrete into the
hole, with rebar to suit. Those plastic cone things+sonotube minize the
amount of concrete you need, and allow a monolithic pour in most cases. Any
precast thing you drop in the hole is going to settle some, since there is
air between it and the dirt. If you aren't on a hillside, and there is good
drainage, you may be fine. Even poured footers/piers can move around, but
they almost always do better than something you just stick in or on the
ground. My back deck is on precast piers, apparently just on dirt, with no
apparent settling. But my yard is flat, and well drained, so it hasn't been
a problem. If I bother to replace the worn-out deck before I move, it will
get proper footings. But if you really don't want to deal with wet concrete,
the precast things are better than putting the wood poles in the dirt, which
I still see done around here. (Outside city limits here, unless you can see
it from the street, they only inspect if you bother to pull a permit.)

aem sends...