TL;DR
A Sonotube footing is a concrete pier cast inside a cylindrical waxed-cardboard form, in diameters of 8 to 16 inches, that supports decks, porches, and small structures below the frost line. The form is set plumb in an augered hole, often atop a wider spread base, filled with concrete, and fitted with a post anchor before the pour cures.
What it means
A Sonotube footing is a concrete pier cast inside a cylindrical waxed-cardboard form, in diameters of 8 to 16 inches, that supports decks, porches, and small structures below the frost line. The form is set plumb in an augered hole, often atop a wider spread base, filled with concrete, and fitted with a post anchor before the pour cures. Code requires bearing on undisturbed soil at frost depth, so the hole's bottom, not the tube, is what the inspector examines.
Where it sits in the glossary
Sonotube footing is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
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See also
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