I don't understand why you haven't just given Carl a case of beer to have him do all of this. He would have had it done in couple hours months ago without using all the sissy gear you've needed (levels, fulcrums, chocks, a truck).
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
I bought three more 2x4's - $13
I've had a real hard time getting "Monster" standing. I've worked on it on and off for about 2 weeks now. I have the hole dug (5' deep) along with the approach ditch, & got the pole standing at more than a 45' angle, then did something stupid that caused it to fall to the ground (in a slow, controlled fashion, which made me confident that all my built-in safety measures are actually working).
I've built a tall "tripod" scaffold to prop up the pole as I lift it - works incredibly well. I've also had great success using my truck's jack to raise the pole instead of lifting it with the comealong. I'll spend more time on it Saturday, and have great hopes that I'll finally get it upright. The big lesson learned from the fall is that I need to be more patient with the process and not forge all speed ahead when things aren't going 100% right.
After the pole fell this past Saturday, I looked in the hole & saw a large toad trapped in the bottom, 5' down. I saved it. Maybe God didn't want that toad pounded into a micrometer-thick puddle of goo.
I've had a real hard time getting "Monster" standing. I've worked on it on and off for about 2 weeks now. I have the hole dug (5' deep) along with the approach ditch, & got the pole standing at more than a 45' angle, then did something stupid that caused it to fall to the ground (in a slow, controlled fashion, which made me confident that all my built-in safety measures are actually working).
I've built a tall "tripod" scaffold to prop up the pole as I lift it - works incredibly well. I've also had great success using my truck's jack to raise the pole instead of lifting it with the comealong. I'll spend more time on it Saturday, and have great hopes that I'll finally get it upright. The big lesson learned from the fall is that I need to be more patient with the process and not forge all speed ahead when things aren't going 100% right.
After the pole fell this past Saturday, I looked in the hole & saw a large toad trapped in the bottom, 5' down. I saved it. Maybe God didn't want that toad pounded into a micrometer-thick puddle of goo.
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
You can see pics & video of my fully erect Monster pole here:
https://get.google.com/albumarchive...m/AF1QipOmkjeFDN8usy_fXsHxlraXhulcdKDn7-d_Ml0
The past few weeks the weather has been rotten, so I haven't had much opportunity to work on getting Monster upright. This past week was dry, so I figured that Saturday I might get a good chance to work on it. I'm pretty proud of how Saturday turned out; it was a day full of adversity and adaptation but ended in complete victory.
I started the day around 9:30. The hole I had dug had a foot or more of rainwater in it and needed to be drained. So I spent a little thought and time and fashioned a redneck hole drainer, drained the hole, then shaped/repaired it with my post hole diggers. I had removed the 2x4 backstop when I last worked on the pole, so I hammered it back into place. So far, the day was going really well.
Next, I needed to reposition the pole and align it with the approach trench leading to the hole. Monster was lying on the ground in roughly the same position where it had fallen a few weeks ago. Not a problem... using some nearby trees and my truck as anchors, I used my chains and comealong to pull the pole into position. Still, the day was right on par.
I had to use a fulcrum and lever to lift the pole a few inches in order to get a few small logs under it. A buddy of mine loaned me a farm jack which I put under the end of the pole to lift it. It worked incredibly well and fast; I got the pole up a couple of feet in probably less than a minute. The only problem that I didn't notice is that the footplate of the jack had a slight bend in it which made it unstable... it promptly dumped the pole onto the ground. A quick inspection revealed the problem. I repositioned the pole, got the jack under it, put a shim under the jack, and started the lift again. This time it worked flawlessly. By putting brace logs under the pole and progressively building the jack's cinder block platform higher and higher, I was able to fairly quickly get the pole up to nearly a 20 degree angle.
At this point, I had gotten all that I was going to be able to get from the farm jack, so I braced the log, removed the farm jack, and transitioned to the truck jack. I quickly got the pole high enough to get my tripod brace under it, then began the tedious repetitious task of jacking up the pole, tensioning the chain, and moving the tripod forward. Using this method, I was able to get the pole up to nearly a 45 degree angle. So far, all was going smoothly and I was ready to attempt pulling the pole upwards using the comealong that was anchored to the front tow-hook of my truck. I was at the exact point of failure from 3 weeks ago where I dumped the log.
I tightened up the comealong, but the pole didn't budge. I tightened it up even more one tooth at a time, and the pole lifted! I was stoked! Then in slow motion the pole started leaning to the right, just like it did when it dumped a few weeks ago. All I could do was stand back and watch. It continued to slowly move, even getting the tripod up on two legs, and I knew that disaster was imminent. Then suddenly it came to equilibrium and stopped. I stood back and stared at it a real long time, wondering what I could safely do next to either get it back on the ground, or even better, to save the lift.
I decided to approach the pole from the left side knowing that if it fell at that point, it would fall away from me. I hastily built a cinder block tower and got my truck jack back under it. I was able to lift it a little and get the weight back on the jack. That had been a real close call, but I had successfully gotten it stabilized. Now I just had to decide what to do next to proceed.
It was apparent that I was not going to be able to get a real good lift from the truck, largely due to the low angle of the tow chain. Instead of pulling the pole upwards, it was mostly pulling the pole forwards and down. This had worked for the smaller, lighter pole that I lifted many weeks ago, but obviously was not going to work on Monster due to its sheer weight. Then I noticed that when Monster leaned, it had somehow miraculously aligned itself with a large tree that was high on the nearby bank. If I rigged up my chain to that tree, I would gain a distinct mechanical advantage because I would be pulling upwards considerably more. It seemed like a good plan, so I stabilized the pole, removed the chain from the truck, got the truck out of the way, then reconnected the chain to the large tree.
I started cranking the comealong like there was no tomorrow, and Monster lifted! Not only did it lift, it lifted fairly easily, confirming my theory about the added mechanical advantage. Then it rapidly took a quick lurch to its left, and my heart stopped as once again it looked like it was going to fall to the ground. Luckily, the smaller pole I had lifted several weeks ago was in the way and stopped Monster's descent cold. Again, I had to stop and compose myself, wondering what the best path forward was. I decided my only real option was to continue with the lift. I kept cranking, and it kept lifting.
One problem I didn't anticipate was that the chain was so high off the ground, and was getting ever higher as the pole lifted. At first this was not a real problem, but as the lift proceeded I was having to stand on tiptoes to reach high overhead and crank the comealong with shoulders that had worn out hours earlier. I thought about it, and decided to back my truck into place and use it as a platform for my stepladder. The lift continued.
Daylight was starting to fade. I was determined to get the pole lifted that day, but it was slow going. Then my comealong broke. A few weeks earlier I had damaged the comealong when I first attempted to lift Monster; now the handle had bent into a perfect 90 degree angle, which rendered it virtually useless. Up to this point, I was happy and optimistic that I was going to get this job done; in just a split second I reached my despair point and was nearly ready to give up. I stepped back, forced myself into composure, and thought about it. My solution was this: I intentionally further broke the comealong in such a way that I was able to use my crowbar as a cranking handle, which when assembled worked amazingly well.
Darkness was falling. As the pole got higher, my ability to securely brace it diminished quickly due to the steep angle of the pole. This was an issue because a comealong can only pull so far before it has to be reset for the next pull. When it is reset, the cable has to be released, which meant that the pole was being held upright by only the bracing I was able to get under it. In other words, each comealong reset turned into an impromptu prayer meeting where I petitioned God to not let my pole fall. Every time it didn't brought an indescribable sense of relief.
I was physically wiped. I had been working nearly non-stop for almost 10 hours, yet I kept cranking. Just when I thought my strength was spent, the cable went slack, which meant that the pole had finally dropped into the hole under its own weight. I hadn't been looking to see it happen. The pole was still at a significant angle, which meant it wasn't completely in yet. I tightened up the chain, then cranked the comealong a few more times, and the pole slipped in the rest of the way.
Mission accomplished, I showered and took my wife to a promised dinner and hard-earned liquor.
The next step is I need to straighten, anchor, and backfill the poles that I have in place. Then I'll get around to lifting the 3 remaining much-smaller, much-lighter, and (hopefully) much easier poles. I'm stoked & ready to get to work as soon as I find some spare time.
Mrs. Ned, who named the pole "Monster", has suggested that we rename it "Bastard"
Enjoy the pics & video!
https://get.google.com/albumarchive...m/AF1QipOmkjeFDN8usy_fXsHxlraXhulcdKDn7-d_Ml0
The past few weeks the weather has been rotten, so I haven't had much opportunity to work on getting Monster upright. This past week was dry, so I figured that Saturday I might get a good chance to work on it. I'm pretty proud of how Saturday turned out; it was a day full of adversity and adaptation but ended in complete victory.
I started the day around 9:30. The hole I had dug had a foot or more of rainwater in it and needed to be drained. So I spent a little thought and time and fashioned a redneck hole drainer, drained the hole, then shaped/repaired it with my post hole diggers. I had removed the 2x4 backstop when I last worked on the pole, so I hammered it back into place. So far, the day was going really well.
Next, I needed to reposition the pole and align it with the approach trench leading to the hole. Monster was lying on the ground in roughly the same position where it had fallen a few weeks ago. Not a problem... using some nearby trees and my truck as anchors, I used my chains and comealong to pull the pole into position. Still, the day was right on par.
I had to use a fulcrum and lever to lift the pole a few inches in order to get a few small logs under it. A buddy of mine loaned me a farm jack which I put under the end of the pole to lift it. It worked incredibly well and fast; I got the pole up a couple of feet in probably less than a minute. The only problem that I didn't notice is that the footplate of the jack had a slight bend in it which made it unstable... it promptly dumped the pole onto the ground. A quick inspection revealed the problem. I repositioned the pole, got the jack under it, put a shim under the jack, and started the lift again. This time it worked flawlessly. By putting brace logs under the pole and progressively building the jack's cinder block platform higher and higher, I was able to fairly quickly get the pole up to nearly a 20 degree angle.
At this point, I had gotten all that I was going to be able to get from the farm jack, so I braced the log, removed the farm jack, and transitioned to the truck jack. I quickly got the pole high enough to get my tripod brace under it, then began the tedious repetitious task of jacking up the pole, tensioning the chain, and moving the tripod forward. Using this method, I was able to get the pole up to nearly a 45 degree angle. So far, all was going smoothly and I was ready to attempt pulling the pole upwards using the comealong that was anchored to the front tow-hook of my truck. I was at the exact point of failure from 3 weeks ago where I dumped the log.
I tightened up the comealong, but the pole didn't budge. I tightened it up even more one tooth at a time, and the pole lifted! I was stoked! Then in slow motion the pole started leaning to the right, just like it did when it dumped a few weeks ago. All I could do was stand back and watch. It continued to slowly move, even getting the tripod up on two legs, and I knew that disaster was imminent. Then suddenly it came to equilibrium and stopped. I stood back and stared at it a real long time, wondering what I could safely do next to either get it back on the ground, or even better, to save the lift.
I decided to approach the pole from the left side knowing that if it fell at that point, it would fall away from me. I hastily built a cinder block tower and got my truck jack back under it. I was able to lift it a little and get the weight back on the jack. That had been a real close call, but I had successfully gotten it stabilized. Now I just had to decide what to do next to proceed.
It was apparent that I was not going to be able to get a real good lift from the truck, largely due to the low angle of the tow chain. Instead of pulling the pole upwards, it was mostly pulling the pole forwards and down. This had worked for the smaller, lighter pole that I lifted many weeks ago, but obviously was not going to work on Monster due to its sheer weight. Then I noticed that when Monster leaned, it had somehow miraculously aligned itself with a large tree that was high on the nearby bank. If I rigged up my chain to that tree, I would gain a distinct mechanical advantage because I would be pulling upwards considerably more. It seemed like a good plan, so I stabilized the pole, removed the chain from the truck, got the truck out of the way, then reconnected the chain to the large tree.
I started cranking the comealong like there was no tomorrow, and Monster lifted! Not only did it lift, it lifted fairly easily, confirming my theory about the added mechanical advantage. Then it rapidly took a quick lurch to its left, and my heart stopped as once again it looked like it was going to fall to the ground. Luckily, the smaller pole I had lifted several weeks ago was in the way and stopped Monster's descent cold. Again, I had to stop and compose myself, wondering what the best path forward was. I decided my only real option was to continue with the lift. I kept cranking, and it kept lifting.
One problem I didn't anticipate was that the chain was so high off the ground, and was getting ever higher as the pole lifted. At first this was not a real problem, but as the lift proceeded I was having to stand on tiptoes to reach high overhead and crank the comealong with shoulders that had worn out hours earlier. I thought about it, and decided to back my truck into place and use it as a platform for my stepladder. The lift continued.
Daylight was starting to fade. I was determined to get the pole lifted that day, but it was slow going. Then my comealong broke. A few weeks earlier I had damaged the comealong when I first attempted to lift Monster; now the handle had bent into a perfect 90 degree angle, which rendered it virtually useless. Up to this point, I was happy and optimistic that I was going to get this job done; in just a split second I reached my despair point and was nearly ready to give up. I stepped back, forced myself into composure, and thought about it. My solution was this: I intentionally further broke the comealong in such a way that I was able to use my crowbar as a cranking handle, which when assembled worked amazingly well.
Darkness was falling. As the pole got higher, my ability to securely brace it diminished quickly due to the steep angle of the pole. This was an issue because a comealong can only pull so far before it has to be reset for the next pull. When it is reset, the cable has to be released, which meant that the pole was being held upright by only the bracing I was able to get under it. In other words, each comealong reset turned into an impromptu prayer meeting where I petitioned God to not let my pole fall. Every time it didn't brought an indescribable sense of relief.
I was physically wiped. I had been working nearly non-stop for almost 10 hours, yet I kept cranking. Just when I thought my strength was spent, the cable went slack, which meant that the pole had finally dropped into the hole under its own weight. I hadn't been looking to see it happen. The pole was still at a significant angle, which meant it wasn't completely in yet. I tightened up the chain, then cranked the comealong a few more times, and the pole slipped in the rest of the way.
Mission accomplished, I showered and took my wife to a promised dinner and hard-earned liquor.
The next step is I need to straighten, anchor, and backfill the poles that I have in place. Then I'll get around to lifting the 3 remaining much-smaller, much-lighter, and (hopefully) much easier poles. I'm stoked & ready to get to work as soon as I find some spare time.
Mrs. Ned, who named the pole "Monster", has suggested that we rename it "Bastard"
Enjoy the pics & video!
Last edited:
- Jan 2, 2001
- 25,322
- 4,987
- 136
Not clicking on pics of ANYONE'S "fully erect Monster pole." No, indeed. You can't trick me so easily.
IronWing
No Lifer
- Jul 20, 2001
- 72,904
- 34,016
- 136
What I read was that he got it up, and, after ten hours of work, got it into the hole, and now he is taking his wife to dinner.Not clicking on pics of ANYONE'S "fully erect Monster pole." No, indeed. You can't trick me so easily.
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
@Drako
One might think that toying around with a hovering pole of death would be the riskiest part of that day, but probably not in this case. I had put a lot of thought into all the safety necessary to get it lifted while minimizing the possibility of any life-ending events from happening. What was *really* risky Saturday was probably that whole ladder in the truck bed thing. I did it without a whole lot of forethought. My truck has one of those super-slick bed liners. Every crank of that comealong made the ladder feel like it was skating on ice.
One might think that toying around with a hovering pole of death would be the riskiest part of that day, but probably not in this case. I had put a lot of thought into all the safety necessary to get it lifted while minimizing the possibility of any life-ending events from happening. What was *really* risky Saturday was probably that whole ladder in the truck bed thing. I did it without a whole lot of forethought. My truck has one of those super-slick bed liners. Every crank of that comealong made the ladder feel like it was skating on ice.
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
Drako
Lifer
- Jun 9, 2007
- 10,697
- 161
- 106
That's why I commented on that. When I saw the video, I was just like wow, that's not going to end well. Just two more steps up, and you could win the internet.
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
I've been putting off spring yard work in order to make time for working on the wall, but this weekend I could put it off no longer... I had to mow & clean up leaves.
Still, Sunday afternoon I had some free time and the weather was gorgeous, so I decided to level, secure, & backfill Monster. Actually, my overly ambitious plan was to level, secure, & backfill both raised poles, then if I had time dig the hole for the 3rd pole & raise it. At some point I actually thought I had time to do all this...
So from a nearby tree I put a chain and the comealong on the pole, then from the truck I put another chain on the pole. I moved the truck around until the pole was as vertical as possible, then tightened down the chains. Interestingly, I thought the pole was well-seated in the hole, but as I leveled it, it dropped close to another 2 feet.
The method for securing & backfilling is this: tamp in alternating layers of clay, gravel, more clay, then larger (fist-sized) rocks. Repeat about a million times. For tamping rods, I have a long piece of rebar (good for tight spaces), a larger diameter steel rod (heavier & good for tamping/breaking big rocks), a 2x4 (good for general purpose tamping), and a heavy 4x4 (good for clay and gravel).
I had 1 real problem yesterday... The first pole I raised, I dug the diameter of the hole way too large. Realizing this, for Monster I dug the hole with a diameter that was fairly tight with the diameter of the pole. In some ways this is a good thing, but when tamping I continually found that my tamping rods were getting stuck between the pole and the soft clay. It would then take all my strength to pull out the rod, which made the deeper parts of the hole difficult and time consuming.
Nevertheless, the job got done with little other difficulty. When I released the tension from both chains, the pole stayed perfectly in place with no evidence of even the tiniest of shifts - it is rock solid. Even though it's been a ton of hard work, Monster is now completely finished and I'm extremely pleased with the results.
Still, Sunday afternoon I had some free time and the weather was gorgeous, so I decided to level, secure, & backfill Monster. Actually, my overly ambitious plan was to level, secure, & backfill both raised poles, then if I had time dig the hole for the 3rd pole & raise it. At some point I actually thought I had time to do all this...
So from a nearby tree I put a chain and the comealong on the pole, then from the truck I put another chain on the pole. I moved the truck around until the pole was as vertical as possible, then tightened down the chains. Interestingly, I thought the pole was well-seated in the hole, but as I leveled it, it dropped close to another 2 feet.
The method for securing & backfilling is this: tamp in alternating layers of clay, gravel, more clay, then larger (fist-sized) rocks. Repeat about a million times. For tamping rods, I have a long piece of rebar (good for tight spaces), a larger diameter steel rod (heavier & good for tamping/breaking big rocks), a 2x4 (good for general purpose tamping), and a heavy 4x4 (good for clay and gravel).
I had 1 real problem yesterday... The first pole I raised, I dug the diameter of the hole way too large. Realizing this, for Monster I dug the hole with a diameter that was fairly tight with the diameter of the pole. In some ways this is a good thing, but when tamping I continually found that my tamping rods were getting stuck between the pole and the soft clay. It would then take all my strength to pull out the rod, which made the deeper parts of the hole difficult and time consuming.
Nevertheless, the job got done with little other difficulty. When I released the tension from both chains, the pole stayed perfectly in place with no evidence of even the tiniest of shifts - it is rock solid. Even though it's been a ton of hard work, Monster is now completely finished and I'm extremely pleased with the results.
Last edited:
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
The cost of the climbing wall just went way up.
First, I ordered about $400 worth of grips this weekend. But that's not what I'm talking about...
Saturday morning I raised pole #3 with such ease that I texted one of my friends and bragged about it. I guess I jinxed the day and should have practiced a little more humility.
I worked on pole #4 all day long and had nothing but trouble. I dumped the pole from various heights multiple times. What's funny is while this pole is long (about 29') it's probably the lightest pole of the 5. Late in the day I attempted to lift it one more time and was on the verge of success - it was at roughly an 80 degree angle, had dropped into its hole a little bit, and was securely resting against one of the other poles. I put a chain on it to my truck and gently pulled it upright. Instead of dropping into the hole the rest of the way, it spiraled around and landed on the hood of my truck. A couple of minutes later, my wife (who was out of town with friends) texted me, wonder if everything was alright. I don't know how wives instinctively know when things have gone sideways. Damage to the truck is bad but not super bad - there is a large, shallow dent in the hood of the truck, and a lot of scratches on the fender closest to where the pole hit. I no longer have an antenna. The wife has been largely kind about it. Largely.
So Sunday I made another attempt at the pole, but it still gave me a lot of difficulty. A big part of the problem is that where this pole has gotten dumped so many times, the condition of its hole was getting pretty poor around the top where the falling pole had scooped out lots of the surrounding dirt. Nevertheless, I fought the pole all afternoon and finally got it up.
One more to go. Weather permitting, I'll dig its hole Wednesday and get it raised Friday. Then I can backfill & anchor the poles and finally start putting lumber on them.
First, I ordered about $400 worth of grips this weekend. But that's not what I'm talking about...
Saturday morning I raised pole #3 with such ease that I texted one of my friends and bragged about it. I guess I jinxed the day and should have practiced a little more humility.
I worked on pole #4 all day long and had nothing but trouble. I dumped the pole from various heights multiple times. What's funny is while this pole is long (about 29') it's probably the lightest pole of the 5. Late in the day I attempted to lift it one more time and was on the verge of success - it was at roughly an 80 degree angle, had dropped into its hole a little bit, and was securely resting against one of the other poles. I put a chain on it to my truck and gently pulled it upright. Instead of dropping into the hole the rest of the way, it spiraled around and landed on the hood of my truck. A couple of minutes later, my wife (who was out of town with friends) texted me, wonder if everything was alright. I don't know how wives instinctively know when things have gone sideways. Damage to the truck is bad but not super bad - there is a large, shallow dent in the hood of the truck, and a lot of scratches on the fender closest to where the pole hit. I no longer have an antenna. The wife has been largely kind about it. Largely.
So Sunday I made another attempt at the pole, but it still gave me a lot of difficulty. A big part of the problem is that where this pole has gotten dumped so many times, the condition of its hole was getting pretty poor around the top where the falling pole had scooped out lots of the surrounding dirt. Nevertheless, I fought the pole all afternoon and finally got it up.
One more to go. Weather permitting, I'll dig its hole Wednesday and get it raised Friday. Then I can backfill & anchor the poles and finally start putting lumber on them.
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
I got pole # 5 up this past Friday, no major problems or incidents. It took way longer than I anticipated, but I wanted to do it slow & deliberate after last weekend's little mishap.
So here's where I am: I have all 5 poles in the ground, and 1 pole (the big one) is backfilled & anchored. I need to backfill & anchor the other 4 poles, which I expect will take 1-2 days if done properly. I spent part of yesterday cleaning up the worksite, which mostly means I picked up all the wood scraps that were lying around.
Once the poles are anchored, I'll start putting up studs, then the plywood. I'm not sure how long that will take. The plywood will take a while because I need to drill out either a 4"x4" grid, or a 6"x6" grid that covers every sheet to make repositioning the holds easier. Still trying to decide which I'm going to do... different "how to build a climbing wall" guides recommend one or the other. I'm kind of leaning towards the 6" grid but I'm still thinking about it.
I bought about $400 of climbing holds from REI, which I think is a good start. I'll add more as time goes on. I have some nice pieces of wood that I think will make passable grips to flesh out the small number of plastic grips I've bought.
I think I'm going to get one more pole to make a belay station. This pole will need to be pretty stout, but only about 7' long. I'll put it 4' in the ground and place an anchor on it so the belayer can clip in. I feel like this is an important safety feature and will be basically free, other than the time it takes to dig the hole then anchor it.
So here's where I am: I have all 5 poles in the ground, and 1 pole (the big one) is backfilled & anchored. I need to backfill & anchor the other 4 poles, which I expect will take 1-2 days if done properly. I spent part of yesterday cleaning up the worksite, which mostly means I picked up all the wood scraps that were lying around.
Once the poles are anchored, I'll start putting up studs, then the plywood. I'm not sure how long that will take. The plywood will take a while because I need to drill out either a 4"x4" grid, or a 6"x6" grid that covers every sheet to make repositioning the holds easier. Still trying to decide which I'm going to do... different "how to build a climbing wall" guides recommend one or the other. I'm kind of leaning towards the 6" grid but I'm still thinking about it.
I bought about $400 of climbing holds from REI, which I think is a good start. I'll add more as time goes on. I have some nice pieces of wood that I think will make passable grips to flesh out the small number of plastic grips I've bought.
I think I'm going to get one more pole to make a belay station. This pole will need to be pretty stout, but only about 7' long. I'll put it 4' in the ground and place an anchor on it so the belayer can clip in. I feel like this is an important safety feature and will be basically free, other than the time it takes to dig the hole then anchor it.
Last edited:
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
I've been sick & the weather has been crap lately, so not much progress for the past couple of weeks. Saturday I was feeling much better, so I decided that I was going to straighten & backfill the remaining 4 poles (only Monster was backfilled at this point). I spent $6 on a couple of small bags of gravel, and I got several buckets of fist-sized rocks out of the floor of my cave, so I had everything that I needed.
I've probably already detailed this, but instead of using concrete, I set these poles the old-fashioned way: I would fill each hole with alternating layers of clay, gravel, clay, rock, repeat about a million times & tamp the heck out of each layer. In my time I've set many poles/posts/etc. this way, and believe this method anchors poles better than concrete ever could. Plus the method allows me to make corrections to the pole's straightness as I proceed.
It was a really hot, muggy day, and I burned all of it working on the poles, but at the end of the day they are all reasonably straight and solid as a rock. In the perfect world, these poles would all be perfectly straight and I could nail exactly 4' studs on them. In reality, every pole is bowed & crooked, and I'm going to have to cut my plywood to fit... something I didn't really want to have to do. I'll deal with it when the time comes.
So Sunday I went to Lowe's and spent $306 on 40 2"x4"x10' treated lumber, and a couple of containers of heavy duty, extra long deck screws. I'm ready to start putting lumber up next weekend...
I've posted more pics:
https://get.google.com/albumarchive...m/AF1QipOmkjeFDN8usy_fXsHxlraXhulcdKDn7-d_Ml0
I've probably already detailed this, but instead of using concrete, I set these poles the old-fashioned way: I would fill each hole with alternating layers of clay, gravel, clay, rock, repeat about a million times & tamp the heck out of each layer. In my time I've set many poles/posts/etc. this way, and believe this method anchors poles better than concrete ever could. Plus the method allows me to make corrections to the pole's straightness as I proceed.
It was a really hot, muggy day, and I burned all of it working on the poles, but at the end of the day they are all reasonably straight and solid as a rock. In the perfect world, these poles would all be perfectly straight and I could nail exactly 4' studs on them. In reality, every pole is bowed & crooked, and I'm going to have to cut my plywood to fit... something I didn't really want to have to do. I'll deal with it when the time comes.
So Sunday I went to Lowe's and spent $306 on 40 2"x4"x10' treated lumber, and a couple of containers of heavy duty, extra long deck screws. I'm ready to start putting lumber up next weekend...
I've posted more pics:
https://get.google.com/albumarchive...m/AF1QipOmkjeFDN8usy_fXsHxlraXhulcdKDn7-d_Ml0
MrDudeMan
Lifer
- Jan 15, 2001
- 15,069
- 94
- 91
FYI - you really should have hired a crane to put the poles in. I DIY this kind of stuff all the time and I used to mess around with it on my own until I learned how easy, inexpensive, safe, and fast a crane is. They could have installed your poles in probably 20 minutes with zero hassle.
I installed the first six posts of my garage by myself and it was very difficult even with my skid steer doing most of the work. I spent roughly 1.5 hours per post getting them installed and squared because each one weighs approximately 500 pounds. Then I used a crane to install the other 24 and I think we were done in 2 hours for under $600, which included some standing around time because I decided to make a few changes.
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/elu4l10m7pq1xdk/AADhR-qqq4AM51W-fK1A9TgSa
I installed the first six posts of my garage by myself and it was very difficult even with my skid steer doing most of the work. I spent roughly 1.5 hours per post getting them installed and squared because each one weighs approximately 500 pounds. Then I used a crane to install the other 24 and I think we were done in 2 hours for under $600, which included some standing around time because I decided to make a few changes.
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/elu4l10m7pq1xdk/AADhR-qqq4AM51W-fK1A9TgSa
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MrDudeMan
Lifer
- Jan 15, 2001
- 15,069
- 94
- 91
Speaking as a structural engineer, your method will probably work, but it's certainly not better than concrete and long term it will fail prematurely. Mixing clay and gravel is significantly less stable than using only gravel and it will also contribute to water retention. Clay is only used as a cap above footers to provide a moisture barrier. It has no structural use and it will not settle evenly nor will it resist or support latter structural loads. Clean, tamped gravel is the second best choice behind concrete. Concrete also protects the posts contrary to a lot of the misinformation that you can find on the internet assuming the post is treated correctly, which it is if it's a utility post. Concrete is more dense than dirt and it performs extremely well in compression. There's really no comparison. The only caveat is that the concrete has to be mixed and installed correctly, which a lot of people don't do. Footer concrete needs to have 3/4" aggregate especially for non-reinforced, monolithic blocks.
I hope you buried the posts deep enough to resist the shear and bending moments they will experience once wind load is applied. A 29' post needs to be at least 5' deep (according to the often incorrect 10% + 2' rule) and more would be better especially if the wall isn't shielded by natural wind barriers. It looks like you have a class B wind rating based on the pictures, but it's hard to know without seeing more of the surrounding area. Because the casing isn't concrete, the post is going to naturally rock back and forth, which will create a void that you may not be able to see because compaction is usually poor at the bottom of the hole. The void will fill with debris and probably compact to some degree, but it could eventually tilt enough to cause problems. Without knowing the soil type, plasticity index, and various other geotechnical tidbits, it's hard to say how deep the post should really be, but safety is a real concern here. I've seen many, many posts fail due to improper installation and the people who installed them swore up and down that it would be impossible for anything to go wrong given the size, weight, and depth of the footer. Unfortunately for them, reality and the subsequent analysis disagreed. Guy wires can usually remedy this if it becomes problematic.
I still recommend that you use a crane to install the remaining posts. I would really hate to hear that something happened to you when it could have been avoided for a few hundred dollars. Edit: nevermind. I see that all of your posts are installed already, which is good. I'm glad you didn't get hurt, but please consider using a crane next time for your own safety.
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
Thanks! Yeah - the part that I wasn't sure I would be able to do is done. There's still a lot of work left, but the worst is over. I kind of think that what is left will be kind of fun.
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
@MrDudeMan
All the poles are in the ground (with the exception of a 7' pole I'm going to put in for a belay station).
All the poles are in the ground (with the exception of a 7' pole I'm going to put in for a belay station).
- May 18, 2001
- 7,882
- 380
- 126
Saturday the weather was bad, so I lost the entire day.
Sunday I went to church then cleaned up downed limbs & sticks from Saturday's windy weather, but I still found 2-3 hours to work on the wall. I'm happy to say that it's starting to look like a wall - there is now lumber on it. I've attached studs on the inside corner of the wall up to about the 12' level. That is where I am going to build a large overhang by connecting the leftmost pole with the center pole. After a whole lot of deliberation, I'm putting the studs on 18" center, which seems like it will be sturdy enough. Hopefully this coming Saturday I'll be able to get the entire wall framed out. My only note of concern has to do with the leftmost pole... it is such a tall skinny pole that it sways a little. It is solid in the ground - there is no evidence that it is moving in its hole - but the sway still feels like crap. I am fairly confident that once I build the overhang (& tie it into Monster), that it won't move anymore.
As a side note, by Dad's chop saw is my new favorite toy. Power tools rock.
Some new pics here:
https://get.google.com/albumarchive...m/AF1QipOmkjeFDN8usy_fXsHxlraXhulcdKDn7-d_Ml0
Sunday I went to church then cleaned up downed limbs & sticks from Saturday's windy weather, but I still found 2-3 hours to work on the wall. I'm happy to say that it's starting to look like a wall - there is now lumber on it. I've attached studs on the inside corner of the wall up to about the 12' level. That is where I am going to build a large overhang by connecting the leftmost pole with the center pole. After a whole lot of deliberation, I'm putting the studs on 18" center, which seems like it will be sturdy enough. Hopefully this coming Saturday I'll be able to get the entire wall framed out. My only note of concern has to do with the leftmost pole... it is such a tall skinny pole that it sways a little. It is solid in the ground - there is no evidence that it is moving in its hole - but the sway still feels like crap. I am fairly confident that once I build the overhang (& tie it into Monster), that it won't move anymore.
As a side note, by Dad's chop saw is my new favorite toy. Power tools rock.
Some new pics here:
https://get.google.com/albumarchive...m/AF1QipOmkjeFDN8usy_fXsHxlraXhulcdKDn7-d_Ml0
Last edited:
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