I have to replace an outdoor gate that is rotting away, as well as the upright 2x4s it connects to.
One of the uprights is attached to two bolts sticking out of the stucco partition. The odd thing is that it is also very firmly attached to the concrete sidewalk beneath it. It must be *in* the concrete as opposed to just sitting on top, since it won’t budge.
The other upright was barely attached to the house with a toggle bolt (!) and a spike. Half the toggle was missing and the hole in the house was 1-1/2″ across. The concrete has been patched, so perhaps there was a 2×4 stuck in it originally.
What was the purpose of putting the uprights into concrete?
Janet
Replies
To keep you from taking them out!! J/K Seriously maybe the post where there first and not set high enough for drainage away from the house . Ever see a concrete guy with a Sawsall?
Or they where and the original concrete settled and was overpoured for drainage.
AAHHHH will the mystery ever end? Mike
I don't quite understand your post. Could you go into more detail?
Janet
No, he can't change it -- it's set in concrete!
I am just thinking that the gate was built without the regard that the concrete would be higher at the house to drive water away from the foundation.
then it occured to me that the orgininal concrete may have been below the post and it was discovered that there was no drainage and it was overpoured to slope away from the house and covered the bottoms of the post.
Funny thing about those "feechurs" ---- When the post is out of the way Drill some holes in the pit left by the wood --insert some Tapcons for bonding and fill with concrete. Have had sucsess with this method and no spalling because the screws act like mini-rebar. Have a nice day. Mike
I may have figured out why the original latch post was set in concrete: The stucco wall of the house is not strong enough to support the post. Behind the stucco is nothing but air (which leads to a different problem; see my new post #47896.1).
The hinge post, on the other hand, was attached to bolts sticking out of a solid (stucco-covered concrete?) partition. The bolts are still firmly embedded so the cement base was not needed for strength.
Perhaps there was less chance of error if both posts got the same treatment.
Janet
Edited 9/24/2004 1:52 pm ET by jyang949
I think the carpenter was a termite--just planning on his future harvest, like the rest of the house, maybe?
Probably what Mike says. The gate post was installed first, and then the concrete was poured, and the guy pouring the concrete (or, more properly, the guy asking that the concrete be poured) didn't cut off the bottom of the 2x4 so it wouldn't sit in the poured concrete.
Sloppy, but not a big problem. The bottom of the 2x4 will eventually rot away, but that wouldn't significantly affect the life of the overall structure.
(Probably some folks would claim that arrangement is a "feechur" -- arguing that it helps anchor the bottom of the 2x4. But then lots of folks come up with all sorts of justifications for stupid actions after the fact.)
Please tell me your interior is SR. If so open the wall smally and insert some blocking and reuse the holes in the stucco.
Interior plaster? It might be stonger than the Stucco. A lenght of all thread and a couple of nuts and your good to go....As soon as you get that new strategicly placed art work. Make it nice enough and the future HO will never take it down. J/K Hope it all works out. Mike
Mike, you must be a professional--I don't know half the buzzwords you use! What is SR? And what is blocking made of?
Janet