The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 3:38 pm**

below you will see the state of a car park that was installed a couple of years ago for a burial ground.
I have given the opinion that the sub base they used is incorrect, hence the prolific amount of weeds.
I saw it being installed, and i can only describe the material as crushed sandstone??
The spec was for crushed concrete.
The contractor told the architect at the time that it was "too wet" to get hold of crushed concrete and he was going to use "self binding gravel"

let the pictures speak for themselves. opinions welcome

First picture shows the sort of weed growth we have had

this picture is the gravel scraped back to reveal the subbase

another of the subbase:

and finally. this is nothing to do with the car park, but a gate post they have installed. This is what happens when yo use a hook to drive as a hinge instead of a hook to bolt!

Edited By dig dug dan on 1309444755

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 3:48 pm**

Poor quality work ,but I bet the cheques cashed and they're probably trading as something else.
Reminded of the old dear next door said she didn't believe in terram as she has some down the top end of the garden and the weeds are coming through the bark chippings..........8" of bark chippings :laugh: :laugh:

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 5:28 pm**

looks like crusher run to me dan
you know that generic crushed concrete et al
was the spec for terram?
thing is any crushed concrete and shingle topping will get some weed /grass invasion due to seeding
I dont see how this could be avoided without a hard surface
i am being a bit thick now but what did you mean with the gate hinge?
all loose surfaces will get some weeds sooner or later
bit of pablos agrox will soon sort them out
LLL

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 5:52 pm**

Doesn't look like self-binding to me. A touch thin, too. Base looks the colour of scalpings round here. What it needs is regular spraying if it doesn't get used much.

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 6:24 pm**

Dan I reckon from the looks of the media the weeds are growing in that the gravel hasn't been well enough washed prior to delivery. Weeds will germinate in gravel regardless of the kind of base especially pioneer species and being next to a field there it's being bombarded constantly with seeds. The gravel needs a good dose of killer and occasional raking and it'll be fine. The post is not entirely the contractors fault wood of that size is always heart wood and it's 50/50 whether it will split or not. If it's bought with a fairly high water content and then dries quickly thats when it goes theres nothing much you can do about it. The strength of it isn't really compromised but if you cap it with lead then that'll keep the water out and make it last longer.

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 8:31 pm**

he post is not entirely the contractors fault wood of that size is always heart wood and it's 50/50 whether it will split or not. If it's bought with a fairly high water content and then dries quickly thats when it goes theres nothing much you can do about it. The strength of it isn't really compromised but if you cap it with lead then that'll keep the water out and make it last longer.

true, but this would not have happened with a bolt on hinge :;):

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:09 pm**

the sub base looks ok can't see any dips or rutting in it, appears well compacted and bound together. Likes been said more regular traffic And a decent weed killer Will sort the job.

I've seen splits like that in post with nothing through them Inc telegraph poles, I've never seen a 12' 5 bar gate hung off bolted on hinges, infact 5 bar gates are supplied with a through bolt top hinge. So dan, you infallible then and every farmer, fencing contractor and gate manufacturer is wrong?

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:18 pm**

So dan, you infallible then and every farmer, fencing contractor and gate manufacturer is wrong?

that is not what is being said. This is in fact a 5' gate.
on every gate i have done using the bolt on hinges (and you buy the fitting set seperate it doesnt come with a gate), not one of the posts has split in this way.
Whilst the gate may be ok, the water can now get into the grain of the wood not protected by pressure treatment, hence quicker failure.

infact 5 bar gates are supplied with a through bolt top hinge.

so anyone hanging a gate off brickwork is buggered then ???

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:28 pm**

From bs5709:2006 gates openings and stiles

For a brick work pillar you hang it off an rsj set in concrete with hinges welded on, asking a lot of 4 raw plugs on a 12' 5 bar gate

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:46 pm**

not expecting rawplugs to do the job, and if the wall or building is already there, an rsj is not an option

:p

we've been through all this before giles, . as i recall at the time, you said that you had never had these hinges split the post.

and my picture has proved that this does happen.
Its not my job ive taken a picture of, nor yours, its merely there to illustrate a point which has been queried.

Put it this way. if you were not in the trade, and you had spent a lot of money on a nice set of gates, would you be happy if the posts ended up looking like they do?

I wouldn't advocate suggesting ALL gates in the countryside are hung using hooks to drive unless i had seen them all.

There are diffent ways of hanging gates, and different hinges. on a softwood post, those tyope of hinges do split the timber.

sorry if anyone finds this confusing!

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:53 pm**

is the post split all the way through Dan because of the twisting motion caused by where it's hung from or does the split start from the heart of the post.

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:57 pm**

all the way through pab. its only a 5' softwood gate btw

Posted: **Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:38 pm**

Right with you now.

Posted: **Fri Jul 01, 2011 12:36 pm**

maybe a wider steel plate washer like we use with divi bars?

Posted: **Fri Jul 01, 2011 7:32 pm**

exactly what i said to dan on the phone earlier sean

50mm square washer would be less stress
LLL

The Brew Cabin

Burial ground car park - Incorrect installation suspected