Putting in 2 fence posts, one should be ok, the other is next to the house. I have managed to dig down about a foot and appear to have hit concrete, its about 6 inches out from the house wall so could be the footings. Do I have any other options if I cant get below this concrete? Would a wider hole be sufficient, I was ideally trying to get a minimum of 18 inches depth. The posts are 4x4 inches, and gate will be approx 6 feet high.
If I need a post next to an existing wall, I normally bolt the post to the wall.
Colin Bignell
Absolutely! Much easier than digging a hole.
Also, 18" doesn't sound deep enough to me.
+1.
Mike
Makes sense to bolt to the wall, the other post wont have a panel just a gate but I suppose could be quite heavy, I will try for a deeper hole of at least 2 feet if all goes ok. When I removed the slabs to dig the post holes I had a layer of bricks underneath, took them away and another layer of slabs! Nothing is ever straightforward in this house. :-(
I've seen that done and bricked pulled out of the wall.
I'd be reluctant to do this unless I could be certain that there would be little or no lateral force on the post.
The post attched to the wall will only have the latch going into it, the other post will take the hinges for the gate.
I assume I use something like a sleeve anchor bolt to attach to the wall, will 2 inches into the brick be sufficient?
Use more than one blot... B-)
I doubt a post bolted to a wall with four bolts is going to pull three bricks out very easyly unless the wall is a bout to collapse anyway.
Well in that case you might get away with the six inches depth; if you are *sure* there are no services there you could always drill into the footings and insert a steel stiffener, or perhaps bolt a metpost fence post support (the flanged type, not the pointy type) directly to the footings, then in-fill with concrete. Or you could put a diagonal brace parallel to the wall to support the post when the gate thumps it. Although I would still be inclined to bolt the post to the wall. Personally I prefer multi-montis to sleeve anchors. You can counterbore the post about half way through so that you don't need such long bolts.
I think mains water pipes run at about 18" depth? Not sure about gas
that sounds much more reasonable.
I've always worked on 1/3 below ground and 2/3 above i.e. a 9ft post for a 6ft fence.
Colin Bignell
Must have been a fairly rubbish wall or a remarkably heavy load on the post.
I have two 6ft gate posts bolted to walls - one on my house and one on my garage - both carrying 3'6" wide ledged, framed and braced gates and held on by four x 16mm Rawlbolts - 6" from top, 9" below that, middle, and 9" above bottom. They have been in place for over a decade and are still perfectly sound.
Colin Bignell
That is IMHO the correct depth.
Thunderbolts/Multi Monte's
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.