zoothorn

Hi there Onoff. I always appreciate/ look forward to your opinions! Great.. I think it looks ace too. Shame a bit high ind you. Yes understand the idea re.brace.. thx. I was wondering if I needed to make a sort of timber surround, to pour in the concrete, to elevate my posts' base by say 4". But if you say its ok at 18".. then that's good enough for me. Besides the tricky post position, & getting the two gates on the same exact line across, other critical thing is the gap between gates. Is 1/2" ok?? i havent factored in more you see. The main issue is positioning my post 2.. mm critical, & far from easy.

Hi chaps. Ok progressing.. but made a bit of a blunder/ gone too safe re.height.. meaning my post setting in on t'other side is now 2" less depth. Just to remind you, I have a full 12" of slope from L to R. Perfect level ( in this position that is.. its a bit off level opened into drive pic 2: but i guess this is n/ a). Near perfect plumb. So my post 2 can only go in about 18" into ground at most. But it does only have a a 4 ft gate hanging from it. What do you think? What side would be the recommendation for the joining loop go, this bigger 8 ft gate?

Hi there Gone West, very helpful info thanks. Yes that seems a good plan to me, I was thinking 16mm too. Yup understand the vertical aspect needs consideration to get bang on. thanks, zoot

Hi Onoff. I think I get what you mean.. so if I get it stuck, drill a hole rearside & tap it out you mean? 13mm is only a figure that the chap on my clip chose, for his, using what lookslike similar hardware to mine (& post). So he drilled in most of the way, I guess leaving the pojnty end to do its own thing. But whether his square pointy bracket was thinner shaft than min.. its impossible to know. So I don't know if 13mm is correct, for mine. So, I need help in choosing a bit size, for my 19 x19mm (square shaft), diagonally it's 25mm of metal.... but taking into account my aspects which are different: IE i cannot use full hammer force, because the post is in ( so do I use a bigger dia bit? i dont have experience enough to make-a judgement). thanks.

Hi Chaps, finally got my gates delivery today. So got my 1st ( higher slopeside) post in, the 8 ft gate's. A zoot job is on!! As Ive had to crack on, put post 1 in - before - hardware on/ holes ( a slim chance I could've got the right height for the holes anyway doing them beforehand ).. its dawning on me getting the holes & two fixings onto the post, is not gonna be easy. The problem is I can't whack the post's lower 'spike' bracket in as I could if the post plonked flat on ground. IE if I use the same 'full pelt' lump hammer force ( i see on my youtube clip reference) , I'll possibly damage the post. Because its concreted in & only in 30" or so, it has a bit of 'give' at the top. Especially problematic if I have to whack the post's top bracket in ( main gate weight held from, & this one adjustable ).. but it is mostly threaded rod so I dont need quite as much whacking in.. or do I? So. The diameter of the flat wood bit used, seems to me, to be really critical. Too wide.. spike taps in a doddle, but not tight enough. Too small.. & I can only get it in by full pelt lump hammering-in ( or worse.. Im simply unable to hammer it in without massive force, wrong dia chosen, then I likely damage the post, cantget it in the right depth at all = & massive stress on me = & whole job is totally ruined: I cant handle thinking of this possible situation). I cant practice on an offcut.. as I cant then get the spike out. My one main clip to follow, using similar looking hardware posts & gate, he uses a 13mm bit. But this seems too small, surely, if my square spike is 19mm ( diagonally its 25 mm). Im not sure what his spike dia was. But he could whack in full pelt of course. So maybe his spike a similar 19mm sq/ 25 mm diagonally. Does anyone understand what Im saying here? Is this intellible? thx zoot.

Chaps, you wouldn't put stuff like this on the gates & all of posts? https://www.toolstation.com/wood-protective-treatment-5l/p41022 IE what ive put just on buried posts areas so far (& cabin/ seems good). Not sure of anyone's used it, but seems decent & solvent based.

I was going to say this.

Interesting that. Thank god the buggers didnt get over here then. Can you ID my sand Onoff?

I rather like the smell of it tbh! I didnt know any health risks with creosote mind you. But didnt have this in mind: what I meant was, continuing on with my bartoline wood preserver stuff ( oil based ) ? Stuff I did my buried post end with.. also my cabin. Dark brown.

Nothing on bag you see, & muggins just asked for " 4 bags of sand please mister " with my 1 cement bag.

Great markc thanks. That makes alot of sense to me. Actually it just occurred to me to finish this off I may as well judt get another postcrete! So in a fug w'me pants in a pickle.. Im not thinking right. So i'll just use a bit/ make a new mini me mix & slope the top off. On a separate note. Looking at all the softwood tanalised gates around/ alot, all look to hsve gone this oldy grey colour after decade + or so. Would you put wood preserver on your new pair of gates (like on my post lower 3ft ive done) IE before the hardware goes on, & the rest of the posts too? Or is the tannalised treatment as good as it'll ever likely be/ not worth the extra effort?

@joe90 John, is hardcore suitable aggregate for concrete? Theres a council pile out here I can nab a bucket from. Its got the finer stuff all mixed in with the larger stones. Or hang on, maybe this is ballast.

Hi Onoff. Thats nice & simple.. but havent i just got " builders sand", having asked for sand at a builders yard & given 3 bags? (I mean how could this not be builders sand-?) Maybe it is called this, & Ive used the wtong sand all along for my porch render mortar job then. Its just slightly damp, light brown sand.. if that dan help distinguish it. Im tryingto recall the sand big bag i was shovelling from, for my mixer/ concrete cabin pads. I cant recall it being different to my porch job sand. Tbh Im still just as confused.

Understood John, had this in mind.. but Im still not sure, Im sorry to say, what concrete is after using the postcrete stuff. IE. I have cement & sand. Can I make some form of concrete, from these, adding something/ or not needing to add anything at all? Its a ridiculously naiive q I realise, but Im just not on board now after my postcrete mini fiasco.

Heres my current result.. i aimed to have another 2" of concrete in, so Im a bit shy at 29" depth. Nearly hard. Great. Should i do a mix of cement/ sand/ water ( mortar.. i think) to add on to here to get me up 2", round off the top a bit for rain drain away? I can pinch a bucket of hardcore from a pile ive seen (not telling you where) i could pick out the stones & just use the finer gravelly numnums for aggregate-?

I sawthis on one youtube clip 'header', which i ignored to watch as it sounded utterly daft. Thats weird. But damn convenient.

Haha no I know theres no frost now.. but my point is, if I put a chug of the stuff in me cabin pads concrete mix last july.. shouldn't there be some in this regardless of time of year? Both are just concrete post foundations. I mean id just expect it to be ground up like bonemeal or summink.. if im not told to add a slug in me water bucket that is. Anyway moot point now, Ill get to grips with this concrete idea, sometime.

Hi Peter, but it was a solid lump of compacted very fine material. Tipping out there was no aggregate, unless it was finely ground.. in which case if so, its just sand surely. Sand + cement = mortar. So should this be more accurately called mortar then? Im baffled with this. And the frostproof missing: what a fine grey powder too in with?

And Im still not clear on this concrete constitutent aspect: what I mean is, i concreted my cabin pads, mixer/ gravel/ cement/ water/ a ratio to follow/ dash of frostproofer. So i know the consistency for a next time, know the ingredients, how long it sets. Ive read the info given by Onoff if i recall, a sheet of info explaining the differences of the various cement-based "recipes". Here, the postcrete is deemed to be concrete " ..Crete " in the name too so no cause for confusion as to what it is. So having done concrete, i expect a similarity. But nothing of the sort it seems. Theres no gravel at all ( so isnt this mortar then, not concrete-?), the water ratio aspect is different IE its ok to be vague unlike my mixer concrete job needing care to follow the 4:1:1 ratio + dash ( if i recall my pads' ratio correctly), & theres no frostproofer addition either. Very confusing.

Ah ok. I was wondering about this rapid set thing you see.. kinda thrown me a curveball, so to speak.

Cheers Tony.. i think ive just about got away with it. But a helluva struggle for me. One thing i notice I wasn't expecting, just poked the top with my finger & its still squidgy. Seems odd?

Yes understood.. so its in my favour perhaps the btm was slushy clay. Now, i need more wet! Nuts to postcrete i say. Id have been better off doing my own mix, & saving £25 too, plus a few blood vessels.

Does it matter if its too 'strong' ? I mean i calculate 4.5 buckets water, to 5 bags postcrete gone in. Why the feck cant they do this buckets of water / bag on instructions.. not hole 1/3 rd full with just vague mention of size makes me angry.

Yes i forget you can return building stuff simple as. Live & learn. Awful experience that was tho, i could have had a serious accident but luckily so few cars in genetal out here. My car.. so fkn rocks, its smoking at the mo! thanks chaps much appreciated. Z

Youre kidding me.. ive just spent the most stressful 25 mins driving like a madman there & back, 2 bags, forgot my wallet, begged to let me have... shot back //// 2 more bags gone in. I think I might have just caught in time as it was starting to go off i guess somuch water in there cameto my rescue in a way. I hope to goodness. So ive mixed the damn thing up as best i can. Still im most of a bag short. the directions are hopelessly vague on the packet, postcrete instructions i resd the same. Evaluating how much you might need is nigh on impossible: even on the clips, ive seen loads to prep, i calculated 2 bags max. And its almost 3 x this needed. I couldnt have prepped a job more thourally with so much time i thought. And plus all of your fab help too. And still i come so unstuck. Jesush man my confidence is shot to pieces. Hate to think what that hour did to my health, let alone my poor old car. Anyway..... done for now. At least were beating the ruddyinjuns at cricket.