Sloped drive/ gates job.

[zoothorn]

  On 24/08/2021 at 11:08, PeterW said:

Drop a bucket in and clear some out but don’t worry too much. Tiles in the bottom, post in, then bags of postcrete. They will soak up the rest. 

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Yup, except it wont fit. Easier said than done getting this water out. I see on clips etc it says use clean water.. I guess for a reason.

 

So gotta go buy a small damn bucket so scuppered post in today, even getting water today out ready to do post tmrw, as n' bors will see me prepping & dog dirt likely in it overnight (hole just behind a blind spot bush theyve thrown the stuff at my car from b4). So Ive covered over hole again.
 

Good my 20 kg bags ok tho. Thx zh

Edited August 24, 2021 by zoothorn

[PeterW]

How much water is there ..?? And ignore the clean water crap !!! 

[Ferdinand]

  On 24/08/2021 at 11:25, zoothorn said:

Yup, except it wont fit. Easier said than done getting this water out. I read it says clean water.. I guess for a reason.

 

So gotta source a small damn bucket. scuppered getting post in today now. But no rush.

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Cut the top off a plastic water or drinks bottle, and use the tall thin "cup" left to hoick the water out.

 

Or since it is hilly can you siphon it out with a length of hose pipe?

 

Then take the water down to the level required by the Postcrete instructions (usually a third full?), and bingo.

[zoothorn]

  On 24/08/2021 at 11:29, PeterW said:

How much water is there ..?? And ignore the clean water crap !!! 

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Oh really? Well hole is half full you see.. so a good 2-1/2 full buckets in there i reckon. Hole is exactly a bucket diameter.. a bit too big but I got an extra bag three-in total.
 

Heavy metals leech make it brown, i think, not the grey clay.

[zoothorn]

  On 24/08/2021 at 11:36, Ferdinand said:

 

Cut the top off a plastic water or drinks bottle, and use the tall thin "cup" left to hoick the water out.

 

Or since it is hilly can you siphon it out with a length of hose pipe?

 

Then take the water down to the level required by the Postcrete instructions, and bingo.

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Hi Ferdinand. 
 

Good plan, saves me buying a flippin diddy bucket. Helluva job getting in to hoik earth out handful by handful (cant afford a double scooper long handle extractor thing).. i really didnt need this. Anyway must start early tmrw, camera on tripod to deter the creeps.

thx zoot.

[Pocster]

  On 24/08/2021 at 11:36, Ferdinand said:

 

Cut the top off a plastic water or drinks bottle, and use the tall thin "cup" left to hoick the water out.

 

Or since it is hilly can you siphon it out with a length of hose pipe?

 

Then take the water down to the level required by the Postcrete instructions (usually a third full?), and bingo.

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Erm or just a small cup to scoop it out . Take 2 mins . 

[zoothorn]

Chaps,

 

I dug me hole a bit off.. IE my post if I plonk in middle, is approx 2" off where i need it. This means once gates on, with other post in, the smaller RHS gate pinching into my bush.
 

Is it ok to plonk my post 2" off centre of my hole? Like this..

 

 

[Ferdinand]

  On 24/08/2021 at 17:01, zoothorn said:

Chaps,

 

I dug me hole a bit off.. IE my post if I plonk in middle, is approx 2" off where i need it. This means once gates on, with other post in, the smaller RHS gate pinching into my bush.
 

Is it ok to plonk my post 2" off centre of my hole? Like this..

 

 

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Either make it a bit wider at that side, or use your skill and judgement to decide that it is OK.

 

TBH if it is 3 feet deep I would expect it to be OK. 

[zoothorn]

  Quote

 

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Gordon bleedin bennet.. my gates arrived, the 4' is a 5 bar, the 8' a 6 bar. Place didnt tell me about this. So refund squeezed out/ stesss/ & panic on to find from elsewhere now so another delay. I cant have more than a 4' hanging from this LH lower slope post, as its a full foot less buried. 

 

 

[joe90]

  On 25/08/2021 at 15:18, zoothorn said:

the 4' is a 5 bar, the 8' a 6 bar.

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Bugger ?

[markc]

  On 25/08/2021 at 15:18, zoothorn said:

 
 

Gordon bleedin bennet.. my gates arrived, the 4' is a 5 bar, the 8' a 6 bar. Place didnt tell me about this. So refund squeezed out/ stesss/ & panic on to find from elsewhere now so another delay. I cant have more than a 4' hanging from this LH lower slope post, as its a full foot less buried. 

 

 

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Noooooooo ?

[zoothorn]

I only figured out this 5 bar/ 6 bar difference today... had assumed these std timber gates were just " 5 bar gates". But no all it seems are 6 bar. Apart from one. Their bloody 4' one. Inept not to tell me, or to know or care their stock was different one to the next, getting annoyed at me being 'fussy' try8ng to explain i needed them to " match". (When i hadnt the knowledge at this point to ask to simply order 6 bar: but as their paperwork says they all are 6 bar it wouldve made no difference). And a rude couldn't care either attitude to me too.

 

But got lucky. The only other place selling them here, had an 8' (6 bar) so ive nabbed that.. & ordering me a 4' (6 bar) for a week+. But still possible it'll be a sodding 5 bar too.. so gotta dive in once arrived, check they match.

 

Last resort: two six footers (& i can see match/ are identical 6 bars). But from this wretched 1st place. Hole still full of water!

 

 

[zoothorn]

Chaps. Ive watched postcrete youtube clips, presumably I do the same with my blue bags, but cant quite understand the way you dont mix it. How does the water & dry contents mix perfectly evenly, without mixing it? Surely dry lumps of it in the mix, no?

 

The principle seems odd to me. Anyway i gotta get water out, chip away some more hole side.. then seat my post so concreting isn't imminent! More likely end of the day with my snails pace.

 

thx zooter.

[zoothorn]

@joe90

 

Hi John. One thing just occurred.. my posts will be fairly close to the tarmac edge of the road, about 1-1/2 ft. My gravel drive obviously meets the road, presuming this is all mine here as it were.
 

Do I need to establish precisely where my boundary edge is here tho relative to the road? Or is my distance ok/ just crack on? I have to bear in mind my creep n'bors will use any excuse to hamper me.. a visit from council is their default way, along with the continual dog dirt.

 

thx zooter.

[joe90]

@zoothorn just crack on mate.

[zoothorn]

  On 26/08/2021 at 10:04, joe90 said:

@zoothorn just crack on mate.

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Ok that's what i wanted to read! Water out of hole, half gone overnight helped.. now widening a bit. So can 'offer in' my post soon.

[dangti6]

When you pour the postcrete in to the hole, you can use a stick/bamboo cane or similar to agitate the mix if you so wish. I say agitate - you'll realise as soon as you do it that the stick will allow water to penetrate any dry areas but that's about it. 

 

Probably teaching you to suck eggs, but get the post in the right place and brace it before you pour. With the correct hole and right amount of postcrete added, there's not much wiggle room from the off. 

[zoothorn]

  On 26/08/2021 at 11:36, dangti6 said:

When you pour the postcrete in to the hole, you can use a stick/bamboo cane or similar to agitate the mix if you so wish. I say agitate - you'll realise as soon as you do it that the stick will allow water to penetrate any dry areas but that's about it. 

 

Probably teaching you to suck eggs, but get the post in the right place and brace it before you pour. With the correct hole and right amount of postcrete added, there's not much wiggle room from the off. 

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Hi dangti6.. yup understood seems sensible to agitate.

 

Ok got it braced ok, popped stones gently round base.  Now i have concern here: the btm of hole  slushy clay/ got out as best i could, put a red thick tile in, post ontop. Its the base moving/ sliding on the tile putting it out of kilter whilst i pour the mix in Im worried about. If I really push& wedge in big stonesbefore, I might put it out. I think the idea is - not- to do this?
 

My other concern is the depth. Ive only gonna have it 31" at best in the hole, it was collapsing & i was getting nowhere trying deeper. So had to stick here. Is 31" top of hole ok? Maybe 30.5" of mix depth? It does have a bit more width involved, say a good bucket diameter.

 

 

 

 

 

[dangti6]

If you're concerned of it slipping, perhaps add a brace horizontally near the bottom and peg that in to the ground either side so it can't slip. If you add the water, and pour the 'crete in from the bag carefully you shouldn't disturb it due to the density of what you're adding. How you have it so far is how I would continue. 

 

What is that, a 6 foot post? 31" would be plenty for me.

[Onoff]

I usually bang the loose stones in the bottom of the hole down a bit with a length of timber to compact them.

[Pocster]

  On 26/08/2021 at 12:07, dangti6 said:

If you're concerned of it slipping, perhaps add a brace horizontally near the bottom and peg that in to the ground either side so it can't slip. If you add the water, and pour the 'crete in from the bag carefully you shouldn't disturb it due to the density of what you're adding. How you have it so far is how I would continue. 

 

What is that, a 6 foot post? 31" would be plenty for me.

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Always assume it will move ( or be nudged ) so any brace / prop is always worth it . If you have a spare trestle you can strap it to that .

[Onoff]

Also worth trying to ensure that your eventual 2 posts will be parallel  to each other and not twisted. Just put a string on the one you're doing now and drag across to roughly where your other post will be:

 

[zoothorn]

@Onoff hi there Onoff, yes good points. Im doing the line by eye admit to site the 1 st post that is.. looks pretty good. If this one is a mite twisted 'back' it could benefit the gate opening a bit past 90*: was my thinking: ie slight 6" more space on drive when opened fully.

 

But i will use a line for siting Post2.

 

Tbh i dare not whack my stones down now.. i might bodge it up. Thanks zoot

[zoothorn]

  On 26/08/2021 at 12:07, dangti6 said:

If you're concerned of it slipping, perhaps add a brace horizontally near the bottom and peg that in to the ground either side so it can't slip. If you add the water, and pour the 'crete in from the bag carefully you shouldn't disturb it due to the density of what you're adding. How you have it so far is how I would continue. 

 

What is that, a 6 foot post? 31" would be plenty for me.

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Bingo thats what i needed, of course! Ok done this & 3 bags of crete gone in.

 

Im panicking, as this water crete ratio is so damn vague. 1/3 rd fill hole with water, 1 bag of crete in. Well it needed 4 buckets full of water to get my 1/3 rd water level. Then 1 bag.. seemed stupidly thin, so i put a 2 nd bag in... still seems stupidly thin... so ive put a 3 rd bag in.. but it still seems too thin. And im only 3/4 of way up the hole.

 

What am i doing wrong here?? I mean its now too late, if i have put way too much water in, which i have no idea if so. 
 

If this is acceptable/ if it will produce a solid conctete... then 4 bags per hole?? That seems over double what ive been so carefully researching up on, i had expected to use. That might not even grt me to the top either. Urgh.

[zoothorn]

It looks stupidy thin to me, nothing like the clips which are mostly powdery. I had no powedery situation at all.. totally different.

 

This is a disaster surely.

Edited August 26, 2021 by zoothorn