Concrete Anchor for Cantilever Umbrella

[nutjob]

Over on the Indiana Hill Billy Pool Dig thread, user 8corneflakes showed off a pic of their beautiful—and bargain priced—cantilever umbrella from Kohl's.

We loved it (and the price) we got one as well! Here's how it looked on Kohl's website:

Unfortunately, the base for it is a monstrosity:

Look at it! It dwarfs my patio furniture. I refuse to have such a gigantic eyesore in my back yard. So, I dug a hole:

It's over 3 feet deep and just over a foot in diameter:

I filled the bottom with gravel, then I inserted a concrete forming tube:

Mixed up 300 pounds of concrete:

Poured it in:

Placed bolts into carefully measured holes in a board:

And carefully embedded the bolts in the concrete. After a day or so I removed the board:

And kept the concrete anchor wet for a good, thorough cure:

After a week, I bolted the umbrella's base to the concrete anchor:

And completed assembly! No more FUGLY base!

From the side:

This was my first time working with concrete. It wasn't as scary as I thought!

Anyway, thanks 8corneflakes for the umbrella source!

 

[ge2655]

Nice, clean, neat job.

Look into purchasing or making a cover for your umbrella to use when it is closed. If not, the sun will destroy the fabric in a short period of time. I'm on my second umbrella (covered when closed) since my first one lasted only a year.

Regards,
-Gary

 

[solincia]

Nice, clean, neat job.

Look into purchasing or making a cover for your umbrella to use when it is closed. If not, the sun will destroy the fabric in a short period of time. I'm on my second umbrella (covered when closed) since my first one lasted only a year.

Regards,
-Gary

I second that. I'm on my second umbrella (not cantilever but just really nice!) as the first was destroyed by a falling tree branch. The top of the old one was severely faded, and I'm getting fade marks on this one (it's black.) Definitely need to make a cover for it!

 

[jhalpinjr]

Did you use "J-Bolts"? I cant tell by your photo - be very careful with wind load if the only penetration is straight bolts. That can rip out. The fasteners should have been galvanized to inhibit corrosion and the chemical reaction to the concerete. They look like they are Yellow Zinc coated in the photo's??

You did a nice job- I just dont want to see it come out of the footer on a high wind day.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I like that you got your Crocs their very own pair of sungalsses!

 

[nutjob]

Uh oh! jhalpinjr, they're hex head zinc covered bolts. Looks like I'm in for some future ... ahem ... maintenance! EEEP!

Bama Rambler: haha! Sharp eyes!

 

[mmcaleer]

Nice job. I never thought about doing that. I am planning my pool now and that is going into the plan.

 

[DoingOK]

Nice job. I did something similar, but as usual, I kinda made it hurricane proof. I have nearly 1200lbs of concrete/sand with 4 foot pipes embedded in angles to prevent any movement.

Poured the block with embedded bolts (poured two blocks for two 11 foot cantilever umbrellas)...

Bolted the base down to it (then filled the base with 300lbs of sand):

Voila'...

 

[nutjob]

Hah! That's great! I dare a hurricane to even try!

 

[pooling]

Hi Nutjob ... if you still have the base ... any desire to sell it? I'm short a base and having a tough time sourcing one through the manufacturer or Kohls. Tx

 

[nutjob]

So sorry pooling! The base is long gone.

 

[sierram]

Hi Nutjob ... if you still have the base ... any desire to sell it? I'm short a base and having a tough time sourcing one through the manufacturer or Kohls. Tx

Some excellent examples of how to properly weight a cantilever umbrella here... 300 lbs of concrete! :bowdown:That will certainly do it. I found this guide to be quite helpful in setting up a cantilever umbrella base that doesn't flop over in the mild breeze.