structural help for a foot bridge...

[teg]

Need some quick help. I need to turn this 20' old fire escape ladder into a 20' bridge to hold up a 180 pound graduate student. The "brackets" were used to hold it to the building. I was hoping to either use a 20 foot flat stock and bolt it to it (#1). ...or (#2) I can use 1/4" angle iron or other suggestions??? ...or (#3) use a 20 foot treated 2x6 or 2x8" bolted to this AND along the side rail. Gotta get done by Sunday!!!

It's pretty heavy but so far we can deal with it.



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[bcp]

Flat stock, maybe 2 x 1/8, run as in the red line in the drawing. Remove or disregard the end brackets.

Bruce

 

[teg]

Flat stock, maybe 2 x 1/8, run as in the red line in the drawing. Remove or disregard the end brackets.

Bruce

I wondered about that, makes sense... I can do that. So 1/8" is enough? Price doesn't matter (but weight does a little bit).

 

[Cataclysm]

I would add a hand rail on one side. Wet or frosty mornings carrying anything could be difficult.

Is the weight an issue because you have to haul it to the location by hand?

 

[teg]

We may add a rope to assist. It will only be used by the graduate student. Weight concerns are since we have to drag it across a drainage ditch. I'll have photos after Monday.

QUESTION, Should I bend the ladder before I mount the "red" band of 1/8" metal?

 

[Gary Fowler]

If you are going to add a truss, keep the ladder straight. I think you might be able to use the attachment legs to hold the truss in the middle if there are two of them and then just have to remove the end legs. If done right, you could then attach the flat bar to the cut off legs at each end.

 

[teg]

There are 3 legs in the middle, one on each end. I was going to tie the middle 3 together with 2" x 0.125" cold rolled laid flat. The ends will be hot rolled 2" x 0.125" standing on end from top down to the bottom of the end legs. Bolting everything with Grade 8, 5/16th bolts.
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[teg]

It pretty heavy but I can drag it around. It now supports my fat azz, 227 pounds. Feels much stiffer. I was second guessing the 0.125 thickness but that was perfect. I would have over built it and had a boat anchor. Thanks for the help... will have photos of it in place.

Added cross bracing since I had a little left over.

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PS. Don't want to sound like an Ad but Metal Supermarkets opened up a couple of months ago in Raleigh. They are great to buy from. I'm sure they are more expensive. It was $56 for 2x 10ft. hot rolled 2"x 0.125" and 2x 12ft. cold rolled 2" x 0.125". (The span in the middle was 10.5' so I had to get the cold rolled.)

PSS. the original frame was 1/4" 1.5" angle iron with solid rods as rungs.

 

[Streetcar]

I would add a deck and possibly railing .steel can be slippery when wet and fall can be painful
Until I saw last post I was going to ask size of angles

 

[lilranch2001]

Is the grad student family?
I hate to be negative, but this looks like a law suit waiting to happen....

 

[teg]

I would add a deck and possibly railing .steel can be slippery when wet and fall can be painful...

It would be a soft water landing... I'll suggest it to him.

 

[teg]

Is the grad student family?
I hate to be negative, but this looks like a law suit waiting to happen....

Not family and I do plan to have him sign a waiver "I'm crossing at my own risk".

 

[teg]

Finished project (yea, it's not level)...
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This is the shallow "end" of the test site... @ Open Grounds Farm.

 

[merlebo02]

first big rain and all that hard work is going to be gone..

 

[lilranch2001]

Miss one rung and that grad student may become a girl
:confused3:

 

[teg]

first big rain and all that hard work is going to be gone..

Yea, that's step two. Farmer said the same thing... grad. student's comment was... "it never gets up and I've never seen it flow much"

A couple of hurricane tie down screws and some cable the next time I'm down there...

 

[teg]

Miss one rung and that grad student may become a girl
:confused3:

I told him to be extra careful... really only need some hip waders to get across but this was what he wanted.

 

[lilranch2001]

IQ does not = common sense......

 

[Streetcar]

Yea, that's step two. Farmer said the same thing... grad. student's comment was... "it never gets up and I've never seen it flow much"

A couple of hurricane tie down screws and some cable the next time I'm down there...

Anchor only one side. It can then move if water gets that high, but not get lost. If you anchor both ends ,the bridge could be damaged by force on debris caught in the bridge

 

[teg]

IQ does not = common sense......

Tell me about it!!! What I've seen, the more book smart, the less common sense. We do a fair amount of sink or swim, and learning "life's little lessons", the hard way!