Homemade Guardrails

[LSmith]

Anyone here ever build their own guardrails? I have a road down to our place that has a pretty steep grade and several turns. The road is cut out of a hillside and one side has a drop down to a creek about 40 feet below. The road is chirt, fairly wide, and in good shape, but since we will be using this road daily I would like some "insurance" on the drop off side, especially before next winter. I am considering using a PHD to dig holes, Setting 6x6 posts on 6 foot centers and using 4x4x12' stringers. Any other ideas would be appreciated

Lane Smith

 

[beenthere]

No mention of post length, but assume you will go long enough to get good holding in the 'filled' side of the road. I'd think that would be important. I would go at least 4' in the ground.
Another thing I would do, is to join the planks between posts, and not at a post. I think you will get better resistance to a vehicle trying to 'crash' through, and more strength from your planks.
That is a long way down! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[daedong]

You could look at using steel cable, instead of rails, it can sometimes be fairly cheap from a salvage yard.

 

[texbaylea]

Check your state's surplus sales. Here in Texas you can frequently find surplus guard rail - the deep corrugated type - that has been replaced for various reasons.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I'd check around for the real deal guard rail posts.

I just gave away about twenty or so brand new ones. I'd gotten them in a backyard trade deal with a municipality. They'd picked up like ten thousand or so from the Federal Government for ten cents each or so. A bunch of them were new. I fixed some equipment and rather than me give them a bill etc they dropped off a couple of hundred of them. I used some at the house for a flower bed border, gave tons away in trade, unloaded more on relatives, and finally just gave the last of them to a bud who has probably five hundred or so he got from the city like I did.

They come with a three quarter inch hole for bolting guardrail to them. If you find a decent local source you can put them close, four foot centers would be ideal in my opinion, and then run a cable through the holes. Just make sure you anchor the ends real good. That should stop an errant car on ice etc. Mario Andretti in a drift probably would go through the best guardrail so I wouldn't worry about that anyways. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif