I’m replacing a gate and need to attach the latch post to the stucco wall of our house. The existing latch post did not stay attached; the previous owners had used a toggle bolt(!), which proved stronger than the stucco. The post pulled free and left a hole in the wall that is exactly the width of the toggle.
Peering into the hole, I can see that the outside wall of our house is stucco over chicken wire–over air.
What is the best way to attach the new post to the stucco?
Janet
Replies
My Dad had a similar problem, and we did a free standing post. The fewer holes in the side of the house the better.
You mean you made a hole in the ground for the post? I do not think I can do that, because the area is covered with concrete.
The very first post was set in the concrete, which baffled me at first (see posting 47805.1), but now I see that it was done that way because the wall would not provide enough support.
Unfortunately, the previous owners took the post out and filled the hole with more concrete. That must be when the toggle bolt was put in.
But maybe that is not even a problem. How did you make a free-standing post?
Janet
We put the post in the ground the same way as we would have if the gate were out in the open, not next to a house. We sunk a post down about a foot below the front line (NYC) and packed the hole with pea gravel to stiffen it. We used the gravel to help in draining water away from the post. I have read some debates on this forum about that technique, you can do a search and read some of them. I have learned that the gravel “pit” that the post sits in can act like a bucket and hold water if the sounding soil does not drain well, like clay. It worked well in our circumstances since I believe the soil does drain decently. We did this about 5 years ago and the gate post has not budged an inch. It has taken a beating over that time with being slammed shut by wind or an occasionally peeved off 68 year old.
Someone on this forum will probably have a bitter suggestion but what if you find a way to attach the post to the concrete the same way you would attach a newel post for a free standing handrail?
Ryan
Uh-oh. We have lots of clay that does not drain well. Our neighbor is slightly downhill from us and is putting extra drainpipes in because our runoff goes straight to his yard.
A friend has a stucco house with shutters in front. The window edge of each shutter is attached to the stucco on some kind of rod or bolt. It is still attached so firmly, we can't see how it was done.
She heard that the builders used a product that comes out of an aerosol can, foams up to fill a space, then turns hard as a rock. Does such a product *really* exist?--because it might be the answer to my problem. It would hold a mounting bolt and spread the pressure over a larger area of stucco.
Janet
Edited 9/24/2004 4:20 pm ET by jyang949
What's the chance you can get to the back side of the stucco wall? Is it the garage wall? If that is the case you could run a bolt through the support post through stucco and into another supporting piece of wood. This would create a stucco sandwich..mmmm good.
Peace,
Martin