A heavy-duty, spiral-wound paper tube used to cast round concrete pillars, light pole bases, and deck piers. The inside is typically wax-coated to prevent water absorption and allow easy stripping. While Sonotube is a specific brand, the name is used universally on sites for any cardboard column form.
Heard on the job
Drop a cage of rebar into the sonotube and brace it off before the pump truck gets here.
Insider tip
Always brace them securely in at least two directions. The hydraulic pressure of wet mud can easily lift or tilt an unbraced tube.
Also heard as
- tube form
- column form