Steel or wood ? Wot Wood U Doo.

[n0legs]

Evening all (hammer)
So daft lad here has been building some gates for Daughter No1.
They're pretty solid to be fair. The master gate will weigh approx 90kg and the slave gate approx 60kg. Both are two metres in height.

So what is a gal to do?? Steel posts or good 'ole wood ?

Much love.

 

[MikeG.]

Wooden post on a steel foot cast into concrete.

 

[HappyHacker]

I have just replaced a broken 9" wooden gate post that had rotted, I also have another two similar posts that have rotted that will not get replaced. All have been in for approx 15 years.

I have just removed a fence that has been in for approx 10 years and a few of the 4" posts had rotted. All are in we'll drained sandy soil with concrete at the base.

I am shortly going to put in a new gate and posts and am tempted to go for metal and will be interested to hear what others think.

 

[sunnybob]

Neither.
Concrete fence posts concreted in. Then if you want to get fancy you can clad them in pretty wood.
(I've also removed rotted posts from soil, and metpost type bases allow the wooden post to sway all over the place)

 

[MattRoberts]

I'm with Bob here. Recently redid our fences in the garden and went with concrete posts. They're rock solid, and it's a nice feeling to know they won't need replacing for a long time.

Given the gates are likely to be heavy, I'd go with concrete, and as Bob suggests clad then if you prefer

 

[MikeG.]

Concrete always looks like concrete (ie ugly). A purpose made steel post foot with a plate running up the middle of the timber post (say 600 to 750 long), bolted, is rock solid, and looks great. If you don't want to go to that trouble, then a box section of steel with nice cap, with the welds ground flat and maybe a ball finial, would look a thousand times better than a concrete post any day of the week. Besides, with a concrete post you have the difficulty of trying to make fixings to it for hinges..........and good luck with that.

 

[ED65]

Couldn't agree more with MikeG here. A typical concrete post is a utilitarian item at best, and if you get one that has some casting voids or a chip or two from the edge they look like something you'd see on a farmyard or in an industrial estate, not beside a nice house.

 

[mbartlett99]

I used concrete for the garden fence and then stained it the same colour as the panels. Admittedly its at the back of the house.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

My 2d's worth:

- The worst thing you can do with any piece of wood is put in contact with (damp) ground - the only question is how long it takes to rot.
- The second worst thing is encasing the wood in concrete underground (the concrete stops the wood drying out - it traps moisture).

Above ground, I think you need to decide what looks best. On the face of it MikeG's suggestion seems best - steel fixed into the concrete and wood fixed above ground to the steel.

e.g. something like Method 1 is preferable to Method 2 on this page:

http://vuetrade.com/resources/installat ... -footings/

Cheers, W2S

 

[MikeG.]

........
e.g. something like Method 1 is preferable to Method 2 on this page:

http://vuetrade.com/resources/installat ... -footings/

Cheers, W2S

The "Bladed Post Support" to the right hand side of that page is somewhat like what I was suggesting, only with the blade an awful lot longer.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

........
e.g. something like Method 1 is preferable to Method 2 on this page:

http://vuetrade.com/resources/installat ... -footings/

Cheers, W2S

The "Bladed Post Support" to the right hand side of that page is somewhat like what I was suggesting, only with the blade an awful lot longer.

Obviously with the hinge post, there's an "overturning moment" (which changes direction as the gate is opened) so the deeper and broader the fixing to the concrete (and the timber) the better, other things being equal.

 

[Droogs]

It is surprising what you can do with concrete if you apply a little thought to it. Was pleasently surprised recently to see a garden made using this stuff and the guy had made his own tall fence posts from formers he made using sleepers to match the rest of his patio. Here's the manufacturers pics, all concrete:

http://www.stonemarket.co.uk/product-ti ... aised-beds

 

[sunnybob]

yeah, those concrete posts, boring, or what?
https://stoneandconcrete.co.uk/westmins ... 500-x-500/

 

[n0legs]

Well thank you guys, some ideas I hadn't thought of there.
I'll go straight out and say I'm kinda against concrete. In my younger days I've had the massive displeasure of trying to fix to concrete structures in our primary substations. Much of the equipment is mounted on cast reinforced pillars that, even after applying our huge quality control standards, often fell very very short of satisfactory.
I had thought of cladding steel with wood, mainly for continuity and it gives the kids options on choice of finishes.
MikeG -- I'm really liking the steel "blade base" idea, l've seen similar on Grand Designs. Would you take a solid post and cut out a slot of manufacture a post, a la gluelam?
W2So -- Man you are not wrong. I honestly don't belive you can treat a post well enough to expect a long life when planting fence posts. I stood mine in a drum full of old engine oil for a month before fitting. Only got 6 years out of 2 posts and a few more will need doing next year.
As always guys, thanks for the replies. Much appreciated.
Much love, n0legs

 

[gmgmgm]

It is surprising what you can do with concrete if you apply a little thought to it. Was pleasently surprised recently to see a garden made using this stuff and the guy had made his own tall fence posts from formers he made using sleepers to match the rest of his patio. Here's the manufacturers pics, all concrete:

http://www.stonemarket.co.uk/product-ti ... aised-beds

At a previous house, we had similar concrete wood-effect "planks". Surprisingly realistic. Until people picked them up and felt the weight, they assumed they were wood.

 

[MikeG.]

........ Would you take a solid post and cut out a slot of manufacture a post, a la gluelam?...........

Either. I'd personally go for a solid post.

 

[ED65]

W2So -- Man you are not wrong. I honestly don't belive you can treat a post well enough to expect a long life when planting fence posts. I stood mine in a drum full of old engine oil for a month before fitting. Only got 6 years out of 2 posts and a few more will need doing next year.

Wow, what a difference climate makes. Where it's drier that trick can give in excess of a 30-year lifespan!

Not sure if wood species will have that much impact at the end of the day, except for some esoteric choices, but out of curiosity did you start with pressure-treated softwood?