Gate Entrance Project Started

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Great Project, looks good.

I wish we could do them that way around here. But between our clays and our bugs I doubt an entryway built like that would last more than six or seven years.

Every day I see pipe entryways leaning over because the posts were only set four feet deep. Water seeps between the concrete footer and the clay and gravity gets some leverage. Then when the clay starts to dry up it expands and heaves the footers up and over. Heck, it moves houses, even swimming pools installed these days have piers installed to keep them in place.

The only wood I've seen that seems impervious to rot in our soils is Bois D Arc (Osage Orange). I've personally pulled bois d arc posts that have been in the ground forty plus years and found them intact, harder'n a bad girls heart, but sound. Our Eastern Red Cedar seems to be durable if the post is all heart wood. The sap wood goes away over time from what I've seen.

We'll be starting our timber entryways last part of this week or early next week, weather permitting.

Now you have me a little worried Harv. I know you have a lot of experience at this sort of thing. I only put my poles 3 feet deep as that's about the length of a post hole digger auger. Do you think I will eventually have problems? Is there a way to shore up the entrance without brace poles? I would only want brace poles as a last resort. I think that would take away from the look.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm curious what you mean by metal brackets at the corners. I'm open to all suggestions as to how to attractively complete the entrance.

I'm BIG fan of of wood, metal and rock combined together. When done right, there's nothing that can compare.

I don't really have any thoughts as to what I'd actualy use, but have a dozen or so ideas running around in my head that I've considered for my own application. If and when I ever do it, I'll have to make a decision, but until them, I'm always looking for ideas.

King Architectural Metals wrought iron metal balusters finials casting steel ornamental forged gate fence stairs Access control is about the best source of corner brackets and metal items to create something truly unique. It's all up to you, what you like, and your imagination. Tying your posts together with your cross beam with an original design that you come up is what I find to be allot of fun.

Here are two pictures of what I've done. The light is on my driveway and something that I made. The second picture is of my gazebo with the brackets that I bought from King Metals.

Eddie

 

[Aquaman]

Jerry,
Thanks for the great pics. I never remember to take pictures of work in progress. The posts look great. So does the cabin!

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Now you have me a little worried Harv. I know you have a lot of experience at this sort of thing. I only put my poles 3 feet deep as that's about the length of a post hole digger auger. Do you think I will eventually have problems? Is there a way to shore up the entrance without brace poles? I would only want brace poles as a last resort. I think that would take away from the look.

Jerry I'm a worry wort by nature so I wouldn't get too excited yet. We'll be starting our projects and I'll try to post updates and explanations as we go along. It'll be overkill I hope. After all, I not only have to worry about everything working under the worst of conditions, irate wife and bad weather, I'll have the husband with the worst conditions on his tail on mine if there's a failure.

 

[mikim]

I've used that cedar as posts for years. I think the mistake that people make is they don't skin the bark off because they like the way it looks with it on. OK I'll buy that, but I always skin the bark off and I have posts that I planted over 20 years ago still workin' just fine. The thing about skinning the bark off is: it keeps moisture and bugs from staying under the bark, and it lets that soft pulp wood dry and harden. Everytime someone tells me that their cedar rots too fast right at the ground, I ask them if they stripped the bark. They always tell me no.
I would only want brace poles as a last resort. I think that would take away from the look.
make 'em part of your fence. set a post 6 feet from your tall ones, run a horizontal brace between the two, do that in 2 directions, 90 degrees apart. done.

 

[flusher]

Great Project, looks good.

I wish we could do them that way around here. But between our clays and our bugs I doubt an entryway built like that would last more than six or seven years.

Every day I see pipe entryways leaning over because the posts were only set four feet deep. Water seeps between the concrete footer and the clay and gravity gets some leverage. Then when the clay starts to dry up it expands and heaves the footers up and over. Heck, it moves houses, even swimming pools installed these days have piers installed to keep them in place.

The only wood I've seen that seems impervious to rot in our soils is Bois D Arc (Osage Orange). I've personally pulled bois d arc posts that have been in the ground forty plus years and found them intact, harder'n a bad girls heart, but sound. Our Eastern Red Cedar seems to be durable if the post is all heart wood. The sap wood goes away over time from what I've seen.

We'll be starting our timber entryways last part of this week or early next week, weather permitting.

When I set any type of wood post in the ground, I first spray the buried part with black auto underbody coating. It's cheap protection that will add a few years service to the post. That stuff is also useful to cover tree pruning wounds while the wood scabs over.

 

[EddieWalker]

I don't have any first hand experience on how long Cedar will last in the ground. I know that diferent species of cedar do better then others. Soil and weather conditions also make a difference. It's really a local situation that you might just have to take a wait and see aproach. If it starts to rot or move on you, then you can always drill another hole or two on either side of them, fill with concrete and some channel iron that you can bolt to the sides of the posts.

It's an easy enough fix that you don't have to deal with right away, and maybe never.

One good way to help a post last as long as possible is to get the water away from it as fast as possible. I'm a contractor, remodeler and a handy man. I do a little of everything including fence repair. Posts almost always rot out at ground level. I've read all the stuff about putting rock at the bottom and doing this and that to keep the end grain off the ground, but I've never seen a post rot out at the end. It is always at ground level as you can see in my first picture.

The only way that I've seen to make a post last is to build a crown up around the post to shed the water and keep it above standing water. I do this with dirt and/or concrete. I also do this with wood and metal posts. It's cheap, simple and just good practice.

Eddie

 

[3RRL]

Jerry,
Thanks for sharing your gate project. I really like the rustic and simple look you chose to use. Something like that would go great at my place.
How tall did the opening end up?

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Jerry,
Thanks for sharing your gate project. I really like the rustic and simple look you chose to use. Something like that would go great at my place.
How tall did the opening end up?

Rob: The horizontal pole is about 13' from the ground. The vertical poles are 16' apart. So far it's been a fun project. Like Eddie says, your mind starts to think of other ways to enhance the look. I know for sure I will hang a sign. Since the new entrance is further back from the road, I will have to do some fence work, but that's a good thing because it will give me more pull in space without the problem of having a truck or trailer sticking out in the road while unlocking a gate. I made the mistake of not designing that into my fence originally. I'll update this thread with pics as I progress.

 

[KNPV PSD]

Bringing this up from the past in order to get a long term report on how the logs are holding up.

Any issues with rot?