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Hello all, I havent posted since my Bridge Build, but I am the proud new owner of a 2006 Bobcat 553, and I am looking for some info/advice. I was looking for something semi-compact, but the 463/S70 was too small. The 553 is a tad bigger all around and will handle most of the light duty stuff I...

I will keep an eye on it, I am hoping the those large treated poles will hold shape for a while. It would detract from the aesthetic of the bridge to have to throw another support in there if I don't have too. I think I asked this a few pages back, but with this bridge outside, in the elements...

A few pics now that some snow has settled in.

Thanks Everyone. It is certainly a spectacular time of year. A couple weeks and everything will be naked! Here is a cool shot just a little down stream from the bridge where it opens into the cove. Look close and you can see one of the Great Blue Herons doing some morning fishing. :) Now...

A few fall pics of the bridge.

Thanks all, I will probably wait until fall to treat it. That seems like sufficient time to dry out. We considered higher rails, but we like the open feel when walking/driving across. The bumpers are 4" tall and it would take a good deal of speed/power to jump it. My wife rarely drives the...

Thank you. What is a sufficient amount of time to wait before treating? The oak was pretty green when I put it down. Thank you. This project did not require a permit :). The bridge is a little over a quarter mile from my house, so the only thing that would have made it easier would have...

Hello, all. Just stopping in for a quick update. Bridge is doing great, fall colors are starting to creep in.....and we had a "Storm of the Century" (or so they called it) here in the Mid-Atlantic along the bay where we live yesterday. Extreme high tides combined with inches of rain produced...

Will do, for sure!

I will post back at a later date if/when I decide to use some protectant. If anyone has any questions, comments, or suggestions, I will keep an eye on this thread. Thanks.

Did you let the wood dry out first?

Its a possum. My wife is hoping he was just helping it across the bridge :)

LOL....its the 60v version but it still took 3 batteries, a sore back, and tender knees. Nothing like ripping 140' of 2" green oak :). I am going to let it dry out a year or so and then decide on stain/protection. Any suggestions on how to protect/stain white oak? Yeah, I thought about that...

I can finally say that other than a few touch ups, I think I am about finished with this project. Besides running the track off the mini-excavator yesterday, the last few weekends went pretty well. We did get about 5 inches of rain from the remnants if Hurricane Ida last week that washed my...

Thanks. Ouch, sorry to hear that about your area. This bridge is nowhere near the borders of my property, so you would have to do some serious trespassing to see it. I would get you on one of my trail cams long before you found it anyway. I do get the occasional kids playing in the woods...

Thanks, it turned out very nice. Yes, as soon as I can get across with the cart, I will haul some gravel back there for the ramp transitions on both ends. I just need to make some minor adjustments to the trail leading up to the bridge first. Thunderstorms and rain today, so I will let my...

Man, it was so humid today. It's days like today when you realize you're not 25 years old anymore...lol. I wanted to get more done but the heat just zapped me. I was able to level out the ramp and added a small extension at the bottom where it's likely to have some ground contact. That way...

Cool. We are in AACo.

Yes, that's one of our coyotes. We have at least one pair living on the property. Also yes, the tree at the far end prevented me from running the ramp straight down. Pitching the ramp to follow the path allowed me to lengthen it, giving it a more shallow pitch like I wanted as well.

Yep, got all the decking I need. I actually just called the mill two days ago to put another order in for the bumper rail lumber. I have decided to cut a straight edge along the sides of the deck and lay down some 4"w x 3"t bumpers on the edge of the bridge and ramp. May go with something a...

I see you are also from MD. What part?

I got a little more time to work on the ramp. I cut (3) poles roughly 15'-6" and ripped a flat edge down one side. I mitered and beveled them for the angle of the header board. Length of the ramp is 15' + the dirt/gravel I will end up putting at the very end to transition up, so I guess it will...

After a few weekends of family stuff and weather too hot to work in the woods, I got a little bit more done today. Having some time to think about a solution to my ramp dilemma, I came up with a simple idea that should work out fine. I ended up straddling the utility poles on each side with...

I think you're right. I think I am going to clear some of that tall grass and saplings out of the way, level the area out a little better, and reassess the straight ramp. If I can get away with 10 feet comfortably, that should be more than adequate, even if it is a tad steep. I made a big...

Or maybe I come down on an angle, keep the stringers the same length, and just rip the decking on an angle.

I was able get the rest (about 175) of the screws in the decking today, so I was happy with that. I was going to get started cutting the pole stringers for the ramp, but since I cant work on it tomorrow, I just called it a day. We are taking a trip to southern Va. next week, so tomorrow I need...

Good idea! I could go longer but I would need to angle the ramp a bit to do it. Not sure if it's worth that headache. Also don't think it would look great.

The smaller one on the left works for a few screws, but 300+, not so much. Luckily I had a T30 socket drive and adaptor, so the 1/2" impact on the right worked great.

Another slow day as it felt like it was about 105* outside. I managed to get one entire box of 6" lag/screws (qty. 300) in the deck and that was about all I had in me. I did learn rather quickly, that your standard impact gun IS NOT the tool to put those in :). I had to break out the 1/2"...

Looks a little too rustic in person....lol. Maybe I will compromise and run the chainsaw down the sides without a guide. It will still have that rustic look but a "tad" straighter.

S..l..o..w.....g..o..i..n..g. :) Had some family obligations yesterday so I didn't get anything done. Today I got all the deck boards on, and some screwed down. Tomorrow I will try to get the rest screwed down and the ends ripped straight. After careful consideration, I decided to take the...

Might be able to use my sled and guide with the chainsaw. I will look at that option as well. Thanks.

Good call. Not going to be able to cut 120' of 2" thick oak with a cordless circular saw, so I may have to lug the generator down there. I will line the centers up and rip the ends when I am done. Thanks.

I figured as much lol......no worries (y) Gonna set up the saw and stand tomorrow and start cutting some deck boards. I saved a few bucks at the mill by not having them cut to length (so long as they were 84" or more). Kind of wish I had him cut them as I am looking at having to make 200+...

I have a couple impacts and don't plan to countersink the heads. I was going to predrill to save some battery life on the impact, but if they cut that well, maybe I will skip that step. Thanks.

I will have over 600 screws to put in, so I plan to pre-drill the boards, but not countersink the heads. Not worried to much about the little bumps.

Are you talking specifically about 120/208/240 setups in North America? You have 277/480 where the neutral can also be grey but white, and not a neutral in a 120/208/240 setup? Never seen it. You have situations like when wiring 3-way switches where the white may carry a load, but it must be...

Didn't think about flashing the tops of the posts. I did not see any examples of that when I was looking at other bridges in the area but I will look into it, thanks. Funny thing about the deck fasteners, this is what I picked up :) They are stout! Almost like putting in a 5/16 lag.

Pretty cool, never knew that but I agree with some of the others. I spent a few bucks on my Klein automatics, so I will stick with those. Plus, as pragmatic as that may be, if I see someone spinning an outlet around a wire to strip it, I may get the wrong impression...lol. You only get the...

This is my first bridge. So coming from someone with much more experience than me for sure, that really means a lot, thank you. Thanks to everyone for their kind words and support. Hoping to get some decking done this weekend!

Correct, poles are not creosote. Would not have wanted to handle those or have them back there in contact with the wetland. I used a chainsaw sled and more than a few ripping blades to get one side flat. Something like this...

When the creek "floods" it widens but doesn't really rise, so I had to be particular about where and how I crossed the area. The first span crosses more of a vernal pool during dry weather and changes to a pond during the wet season. If you looked at the area on a Topo you would get a better...

I appreciate the kind words all, thank you.

Here are the poles in place and a deck board or two after I spent a while getting everything level/plumb. I will be cutting off the cantilevered ends of the poles on the far side where I will start my ramp. The other end will dead end into the earth for a smooth transition.

Spent the better part of a year reading various posts on the net and looking at some actual bridges at parks here in the area before I got going. Quite a bit of good info came from this site so I figured I would post up my progress. Here is a short explanation of of what I have so far with...