I want to fix some trellis over a fence which has concrete fence posts - my plan is to fix wooden rails horizontally near the top and the bottom and to fix the trellis to this. Do I need to take any special precautions when drilling and plugging the concrete posts?
Peter.
If they are like my fence posts they are reinforced concrete i.e. a lot of iron inside them.
I have never tried drilling into them but I suspect that a masonary drill would have major problems with the iron reinforcing, and a high speed twist drill would be blunted by any concrete.
Also beware if they contain largeish stones (depends on the concrete mix) because these could come out completely leaving a crater.
Sorry about all the negative comment - I am trying to think of an alternative way to do it but failing at the moment.
Probably best to use the smallest drill and plug possible to give you a change of getting in between the reinforcing ironwork.
HTH
Dave R
Never tried them but these may help:-
You might find the concrete extremely hard, difficult to drill and reinforced with steel. Try to fasten the trellis with some wire first and if you can't do this check where the steel is located in the posts with a metal detector. Try to avoid fixing too close to the edges, as it might burst the concrete out as you tighten the fixings.
As others have indicated, drilling these concrete posts is likely to prove troublesome. They are harder than a bully brought up in the Bronx.
From what I recall these concrete posts may come with two attributes which might help you. First, they might be slotted to take a fence panel. Second, they may have holes right thru to take a bolt or wire. Easy to see if that's the case.
PoP
If you've an sds drill then no problem. Drilled onto the tops and sides of some gravel boards and posts to fasten my panels to them with no problems apart from the one gravel board where I went at an angle and a bit chipped off the back... ;-)
They don't have "that" much reinforcing in them - they are making them to sell at a profit after all.
Mark S.
If these are the concrete "H" posts which have the panels slide down into, and they are like the ones we have, then the reinforcing is two steel rods down the middle. If you drill to the side of the center - towards where the panels sit then you will probably miss the rods. We haven't done this yet - we need to do loads soon to support plant wires. I think gentle use of an SDS will do it fine. If you hit something that won't drill then try somewhere else - there should be somewhere thick and strong enough to take plug within the post. SDS is the way to go when drilling concrete - it saves hours.
Sam
can you not put a wood spacer onto the fence panel and then the cross braces rather than drill the post?
Dave
Nowhere near as hard as made out, especially if the posts are new-ish. A drill with hammer action and a 6mm TCT bit is fine. The re-inforcing is positioned appropriately to resisting bending of the post, so just don't drill near the corners! A TZ p ost has wire re-inforcing near the corners, about 10mm in, and a slotted one has them in the shoulders around the slots, so as long as you drill holes near the middle, you'll be OK.
J.B.
Why can't you use timber battens on "your side" of the fence as standoffs, and put the trellising onto that? No one can object to it - no matter "who" paid for the fence in the first place - all party fences are joint owned (assuming that this *IS* a party fence - mine isn't! It completely stands
100% on my land and stood a preliminary legal test!). If the fence is in too poor a condition to take the battening then it should be replaced in any case!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.