This, that, and the other

[txdon]

Bobby, no dates yet.
Looks like the rest of this week is a washout, it's raining now and the entrance is in black land.

Kyle, do you have a date?

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Kyle, do you have a date?

Don, its hard to plan anything at my house with 2 kids. I just go with the flow. The weather is hit or miss this time of year. Anyway, my gate is way off in the future.

If you are asking about a date for your gate to come help, Just pick a weekend and let us know.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Yesterday was one of those days. I'm sure you've had them. All the ducks are in a row ready for a swim and dead in the middle of the group you hear clucking.

The other evening I was given an approximate location of the water supply line. It happened to be in the middle of where we're locating the gate posts. I called the water supply corporation yesterday morning after putting two yards of remix (sand and gravel remixed for making concrete) on the truck. The nice lady on the phone was quite firm that they had two days to get me the locate and that chances were most likely they'd take two days to do the locate.

So I unloaded the tractor etc off the trailer and decided to go ahead and deliver the sixteen foot posts for both locations and then spend the rest of the day working at the shop. When I arrived at the east Rockwall location they water supply locate was done, very nicely too.

I started drilling holes at one in the afternoon.

The holes are nine feet deep and eighteen inches in diameter. I put in three feet of real wet concrete because of the holes I'd cut in the bottoms of the posts. Then I put in two feet of clay and tamped it down good. The rest of the way up was concrete.

Our ground here is what they call "expansive soils". A friend of mine lives on a high point and the engineers told him his elevation of the hill will vary four to six inches between the wettest and driest times of the year. The idea of using the dirt/clay barrier between the layers of concrete comes from a suggestion by my father. He thought and I believe he may be right, the layer of dirt/clay might resist clay heave better than a solid cylinder of concrete will.

 

[rtdiggr]

That's Deep.

Shane

 

[wroughtn_harv]

That's Deep.

Shane

Yeah, and we did it again yesterday at the other location, darn.

Today it's double doggone darn cold (I know, ya'll up north would think in the thirties with a stiff north wind as a heat wave but we're not up there) so I'll be preparing the posts that have to be powdercoated I believe.

 

[GaryBDavis]

The holes are nine feet deep and eighteen inches in diameter.

Harv, your post holes are getting deeper and wider every time you do a project. Stop the madness!!!

 

[EddieWalker]

The holes are nine feet deep and eighteen inches in diameter. I put in three feet of real wet concrete because of the holes I'd cut in the bottoms of the posts. Then I put in two feet of clay and tamped it down good. The rest of the way up was concrete.

Our ground here is what they call "expansive soils". A friend of mine lives on a high point and the engineers told him his elevation of the hill will vary four to six inches between the wettest and driest times of the year. The idea of using the dirt/clay barrier between the layers of concrete comes from a suggestion by my father. He thought and I believe he may be right, the layer of dirt/clay might resist clay heave better than a solid cylinder of concrete will.

Harvey,

This is a new one for me. I think I understand the theory of the dirt between the cement, as it creates more of a "plug" that holds it all in place. One solid mass would be more likely to move, but having them split in two allows them to stay in place better.

I might have missed it, but was the pole in the bottom of the hole before you poured the bottom concrete? How lond did you wait until putting the clay in? How did you compact the clay around the pole?

I realy like the holes you cut in the bottom of the pipes. I've been welding on pieces of rebar or bolts to add some strength to my poles. Your holes are allot stronger, easier and simpler. It's the little tricks that you use that make your posts so interesting!!!!!! Thanks.

Eddie

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Gary, when are you coming up here to see the staircase for yourself? One of our common comments when your name comes up is about your approval rating on it.

And Gary I'm a man of sayings, one of them is, "you only regret digging a gate post hole too deep one time."

Eddie, the concrete was poured (hand mixed in wheelbarrow) in both holes before the clay was added. The concrete wasn't set up but it was stiff enough where I didn't worry about the clay and concrete mixing. I tamped the clay with a digging bar with a pancake shape at one end and a chisel at the other. The posts were sitting on the bottom of the hole when I poured the concrete.

Eddie the client has expressed interest in your visiting his home if you get over in this area. I'm sure you still have my number, if not, I'm in the book.

 

[kcir]

Harv,

I am looking at building an entry and have a question for you.

So if I were going to put a 14'x4' entry gate with 1/2" square tube bars every 4" (don't know how much that would weigh yet). How deep a hole and what size metal post would I need to install? East texas sand/clay not far too from Eddie.

I have a 12" auger and have been following your advice on building my pipe fence of deep holes and lots of concrete. I have been digging 3' x12" holes and filling with mixed concrete from my 3 point hitch concrete mixer. It is funny all the onlookers ask, why are you mixing that I just pour the bag in the hole and add water.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Rick

 

[TBDonnelly]

wroughtn_harv; the man who's post holes have an echo.

....in a very good way.

Don

 

[rtdiggr]

Yeah, and we did it again yesterday at the other location, darn.

Today it's double doggone darn cold (I know, ya'll up north would think in the thirties with a stiff north wind as a heat wave but we're not up there) so I'll be preparing the posts that have to be powdercoated I believe.

Harv i thought i was doing good with my 52" auger but yours is massive.

I trust you put the extension on? or were you able to get it like that.?

I know you hydraulics would allow you to reverse your auger but have you ever got it stuck?

Shane

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Harv,

I am looking at building an entry and have a question for you.

So if I were going to put a 14'x4' entry gate with 1/2" square tube bars every 4" (don't know how much that would weigh yet). How deep a hole and what size metal post would I need to install? East texas sand/clay not far too from Eddie.

I have a 12" auger and have been following your advice on building my pipe fence of deep holes and lots of concrete. I have been digging 3' x12" holes and filling with mixed concrete from my 3 point hitch concrete mixer. It is funny all the onlookers ask, why are you mixing that I just pour the bag in the hole and add water.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Rick

Rick I'd go as deep as I could. I like to go at least six feet deep. James, MF1455, dug his with the old screw in buckets and it worked fine.

The way I use to explain it to a client is I will put a pencil between two fingers and their thumb and then move the top of it. Then I put the pencil in their palm and have them make a fist. You'd be surprised at the number of times I've seen the light come on in their eyes with that one.

It's like I said, you only regret digging it too deep one time. But if you don't dig it deep enough then you're either installing braces or you're taking it out and doing it right. If that extra depth takes you two additional hours that's nothing when you're taking it out and starting over.

Nice fence btw

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Harv i thought i was doing good with my 52" auger but yours is massive.

I trust you put the extension on? or were you able to get it like that.?

I know you hydraulics would allow you to reverse your auger but have you ever got it stuck?

Shane

I've got several ways of adding extensions. Some of my holes I go down twelve feet. Most of my augers I've either made from components or I've modified factory ones. An auger isn't just an auger. The correct one for the job makes all the difference, think framing with a ball peen if a hammer is a hammer.

One of the ways I avoid getting stuck is I use water. Clay has a point where it's too dry to be slurrpy but too wet to be slippery. It's the perfect storm you might say. You go down about two feet and then you can't move up or down.

What I do is the first sign of resistance when the clay is like that I add water to the hole. In fact I have a sixty five gallon water tank that straps on top of the skid steer. I have a piece of one inch pvc flex (spa pipe) with a ball valve on it hanging down where I can reach it from the cab.

In the clay there are a couple of reasons for adding water as you're going down. One is the hole ends up clean with straight sides. Another it you're moving faster with each hole going down and coming up cleaner.

The downside of the water is it makes a mess.

My tractor has high flow (28 gpm). But the high flow is non-reversable. When it gets stuck on high flow I have to change over to low flow to be able to reverse it. It only takes having to do that once or twice a lifetime to recognize getting stuck coming up and avoiding it like an ex mother in law at the wrong time of her month.

 

[GaryBDavis]

Harv, I do need to go see the client's house and check on/approve of his progress. He and I are a lot alike. I'd say we are both somewhat like you, but there is really only one Harv is these parts of the world.

Next time you head south down I35, make sure you plan on stopping by.

 

[rtdiggr]

Harv i never heard of the water trick i think i might have to borrow that idea.

Around here the big thing is frost which we need to go 4' i know for you that is not an issue so what factors in the size of the whole? i understand you do want it to fall over or need side bracing so is there codes for what you base your decision on or just experience?


Shane

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Harv i never heard of the water trick i think i might have to borrow that idea.

Around here the big thing is frost which we need to go 4' i know for you that is not an issue so what factors in the size of the whole? i understand you do want it to fall over or need side bracing so is there codes for what you base your decision on or just experience?


Shane

Codes are not an issue here. Here I used eighteen inch holes because the posts are six inch pipe and I wanted plenty of concrete around them.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

It's cold as heck out there this morning. Yesterday we cut the logs for fitting around the pipe posts at the house with the staircase. The reason I started there was the logs are smaller in size and we're in the middle of a bunch of trees. The location with the bigger logs is on a high point and, well, wind, cold, don't mix, at least I don't think so.

We started with cutting slits in the laid out hole with my DeWalt worm drive circular saw. Then we followed that with the Makita beam circular saw with it's sixteen inch blade. We removed what we could with a crow bar and hammer and then it was an angle grinder and hand chisel and mallet.

The first thing I made was a guide or template for the cavity required.

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie the client has expressed interest in your visiting his home if you get over in this area. I'm sure you still have my number, if not, I'm in the book.

I'd love to see that house and gate. Isn't that the same house that you made the custom railings for? From what you've posted, it's a home that I'm sure will be interesting to see!!!!

I recognize the wood carving tools, so that might explain why they mortised out the logs the way they did, but wouldn't a chain saw of done the same thing in about a quarter of the time?

I'm hoping that you are using the forks in the logs to hold up the cross beam. That is something I've never seen before, but think it will look amazing!!!!

Eddie

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I'm hoping that you are using the forks in the logs to hold up the cross beam. That is something I've never seen before, but think it will look amazing!!!!

Eddie

You mean like this Eddie?

 

[wroughtn_harv]

This morning started off a little tough. It was cold and evidently a front is nearby because every owie I've ever had was complaining. So I didn't really want to get out and get after it.

I went and gathered up my old boom and winch pole that fits on my forks along with my forks. We put that on the client's Kubota (quick attach is a good thing).

It was a bear doing the first post. First because the post was right at the limit of the capacity of the Kubota height and weight wise. It was tricky but we got it on the steel pipe post.