There was I, digging this 'ole...

[The Natural Philosopher]

Ignore that. Even if it starts vertical it won't be by the time its has some wshing hung on it a few times.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Precisely. See man talking about 'wiggling a post around' to make a hole bigger.

The post itself will do that.

I would say that something like 4-6' down or what is essentially a cantilever. With soil rammed back HARD.

Or that neat trick someone described with a gatepost.. weld the post to a substantial lateral udeground member and bury a few square meters of it somewhere.

I.e. think tree, where the tree doesn't go deep, but its roots spread over a HUGE area.

Even those blow over.

[Ian White]

Everything depends on the ground conditions, but the hosepipe method is likely to produce a slack, conical hole in ground that has been made very soft... all exactly what you *don't* want for a clothes post.

Another twist on RW's method is to cut two big, strong teeth into the end of the short piece and use it as a rotary core drill. With the help of a handlebar (another piece of scaff and a clamp) and a spirit level to keep it vertical, this will go down quite easily into most types of soil. A *small* amount of water helps as a lubricant, but it's the back-and-forth turning motion that's doing the digging. Drill down until the tube becomes solidly plugged with mud, then pull out the tube, clear out the plug and repeat.

Unless you run into something big and completely immovable, it should only take a few minutes to get down 2-3ft. With care you'll have a tight vertical hole in solid undisturbed ground. The long post should then tap snugly into place.

To prevent the sideways load from enlarging the top of the hole, you can dig out a 1ft cube around the base of the post *after* you've installed it, and throw in some concrete to increase the load-bearing area. (If you're determined to use the hosepipe method, you will definitely need to do this, but once again do it *after* you have installed the post.)

[Thomas Prufer]

A "ground screw"?. 'tis such a beast:

(which will eventually let you set the language to English if you persevere, or pretend to be in Kanada.)

I got a generic one cheap, about two feet long, for something like five Euros, from a B&Q-equivalent. Stick the supplied cross bar in, turn until the top's just about level with the ground. Then there's plastic rings to shim to the pole, and a screw to hold it in a bit.

The fancier ones on the site listed have a cunning arrangement of several eccentric rings so that one can set the pole vertical if the screw isn't. My cheap imitation holds a 4 m umbrella thing upright in stony ground for as long as I need it. Takes about two minutes to install and less to remove, if one can still find the cross bar.

Thomas Prufer

[Andrew Mawson]

feet.

ground

unless I hire

factor it has

Then use a conventional post rammer - one of those two handled fat heavy tubes with a flat plate welded over the top end. My concern re the hose pipe method is that you are softening the ground precisely where you want it firm. Alternatively wack in a shorter length of scaffold pole so the top is (say) 6" below ground level, join on you full length with a scaffold joiner of the type that goes inside the tubes, then concrete over the joint.

AWEM

[somebody]

In message , "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot" writes

Yes, entirely feasible. I put in two 6m scaffold poles with 1.5m below ground.

Hire a post hole borer with a 150mm auger and a 1m extension bit (depending on how deep you want to go). I would recommend you go for the two man version though :-) It cost me about £25 quid for a mornings hire. Lovely neat hole, very quick and hardly any soil to get rid off.

If you do opt for a drymix concrete afterwards, use a length of 2x2 to ram it hard down around the pole.

Hth Someone

[Franko]

LOL

[Franko]

If this thread doesn't stop getting any more outlandish methods posted - I'll come round and dig the bl**dy thing myself for nothing :-)

[robgraham]

Well whatever way you do it without a concrete collar or weight, just be brave enough to come back in 6 months time and tell us if the pole is still as vertical as you put it in. The plonkers in the garden next door did something similar and both poles are leaning inwards by about 20 degrees. Rob

[Dan Smithers]

Try a post driver.

They're cylindrical with two handles and you slot them over the top of the post and thump thump thump. Job done. You can hire these.

dan

[The Medway Handyman]

All you need is a pole some 7,926 miles long, threaded at both ends. Hammer down using any previous method discussed until only 12' extends above ground.

Take flight to Australia & use nut & very large washer to secure, remove any excess using angle grinder.

Simple, yet effective.

[Franko]

BRILLIANT - best idea yet and one most likely to last the test of time. If you can make the other end emerge in the middle of Ayres Rock that would help with the stability somewhat. Franko.

[Bob Eager]

You forgot to mention that, for increased stability, you can pack and small gaps round the pole with car body filler.

[The Medway Handyman]

ROFLMAO!

[dennis]

Not very useful though. I recommend tying the line to a weight in synchronous orbit and then you can rent out bits of it to other people.. advertising on the bottom 30 foot.. phone masts above that.. military comms above that.. windmills above that.. MANs above that.. WANs above that.. SKY.. NASA.. etc.

[Mark]

But what the pole comes out in the Indian Ocean? His garden will be filled with sea water.

[Rod]

Knock it off line a bit further and it might come up under Saudi...

[The Medway Handyman]

RW has already covered that "ENSURE UPRIGHTYNESS WITH LEVEL".

In any case the car body filler would stop the leak.

[Bruce]

... and drain away that Kingdom's oil wealth within hours!

I can but dream. ;-)

[R D S]

AOL