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  • bmyers
    Veteran Member
    • Jun 2003
    • 1371
    • Fishkill, NY
    • bt 3100

    Mailbox post post

    My post about a post My temporary mailbox post from 5 years ago did not survive the winter. Once the snowbank melted it fell over. This is what I replaced it with. I milled the wood from pine trees to what you see here. Through tenon for the cross piece because I wasn't sure how much over-hang i wanted until it was up. Picture here with the brace still screw in because the concrete is taking its' time setting.

    Also wanted to say hello. Been a while since I stopped in.

    B

    "Why are there Braille codes on drive-up ATM machines?"
  • leehljp
    Just me
    • Dec 2002
    • 8429
    • Tunica, MS
    • BT3000/3100

    #2
    That looks GOOD! Well done!
    Hank Lee

    Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

    Comment

    • Black wallnut
      cycling to health
      • Jan 2003
      • 4715
      • Ellensburg, Wa, USA.
      • BT3k 1999

      #3
      Great looking post! Good post too.
      Donate to my Tour de Cure


      marK in WA and Ryobi Fanatic Association State President ©

      Head servant of the forum

      ©

      Comment

      • cwsmith
        Veteran Member
        • Dec 2005
        • 2737
        • NY Southern Tier, USA.
        • BT3100-1

        #4
        Thanks for posting your post... now if you had only posted it from Painted Post (where I used to live) this post winter, would have been a real play on "post".


        Kidding aside, that's a nice project and the fact that you harvested it yourself, makes it even neater. The stain (or is that looks really good and I like the idea of the cross-tenon... I love tenon construction, perhaps because it's a real hands-on challenge.

        These NY winters are really harsh on wood, did you treat the base into and above the concreate?

        Thanks and welcome back,

        CWS
        Think it Through Before You Do!

        Comment

        • capncarl
          Veteran Member
          • Jan 2007
          • 3564
          • Leesburg Georgia USA
          • SawStop CTS

          #5
          Concrete question.... did you dig the hole, pour in the concrete, then place the pole in the concrete? .....or did you place the pole hard into the bottom of the hole before you added the concrete.....

          Comment

          • bmyers
            Veteran Member
            • Jun 2003
            • 1371
            • Fishkill, NY
            • bt 3100

            #6
            Originally posted by cwsmith
            Thanks for posting your post... now if you had only posted it from Painted Post (where I used to live) this post winter, would have been a real play on "post".


            Kidding aside, that's a nice project and the fact that you harvested it yourself, makes it even neater. The stain (or is that looks really good and I like the idea of the cross-tenon... I love tenon construction, perhaps because it's a real hands-on challenge.

            These NY winters are really harsh on wood, did you treat the base into and above the concreate?

            Thanks and welcome back,

            CWS
            Never been there but I think I would like Painted Post!

            The stain I used was Sikkens Log Siding stain. For anything outside, I try to go with Sikkens something as it is just really good stuff. It holds up! Expensive products but my time is worth it.

            I covered the end of the post and sides to above 6 inches above grade with roofing tar with fibers and left it to sink in and harden up a few days. Then the rest Sikkens right up to an over that.

            To CapnCarl: I suspended the pole with a busted wooden horse about 4 inches from the bottom on the hole. I google it and this seems common to have concrete under the pole and totally encased.

            Click image for larger version

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            "Why are there Braille codes on drive-up ATM machines?"

            Comment

            • capncarl
              Veteran Member
              • Jan 2007
              • 3564
              • Leesburg Georgia USA
              • SawStop CTS

              #7
              Concrete encased pole..... that's the reason I asked. This is totally opposite of the way I have been told to do it all my life. ( I've never googled it though) We even made contractors on the Marine Base I worked re- do work where they encased poles in concrete. The line of thought was that the concrete encased the pole and created a "bowl" that held water and rotted the pole and in untreated poles, held water for termites. This may just be a regional thing because if the concrete bowl was full of water and froze it would crack and may self drain.
              capncal

              Comment

              • bmyers
                Veteran Member
                • Jun 2003
                • 1371
                • Fishkill, NY
                • bt 3100

                #8
                I'm no concrete pro, that is why I googled it. Seemed to make sense but I can imagine the bowl effect also. Oh well. The last one lasted 5 years and that was a 15 minute job because my wife was bugging me and we just moved in. If I have to make another in 4 years I'll still be happy.
                I should have asked here first
                "Why are there Braille codes on drive-up ATM machines?"

                Comment

                • atgcpaul
                  Veteran Member
                  • Aug 2003
                  • 4055
                  • Maryland
                  • Grizzly 1023SLX

                  #9
                  Nice post but I think you'll need a more fitting mailbox to match.

                  and welcome back!

                  Comment

                  • bmyers
                    Veteran Member
                    • Jun 2003
                    • 1371
                    • Fishkill, NY
                    • bt 3100

                    #10
                    Originally posted by atgcpaul
                    Nice post but I think you'll need a more fitting mailbox to match.

                    and welcome back!
                    I agree! Plane Jane box but it still in good shape so it can go back into service for the time being. I don't need any extra project right now.

                    Good to see you around sir !
                    "Why are there Braille codes on drive-up ATM machines?"

                    Comment

                    • capncarl
                      Veteran Member
                      • Jan 2007
                      • 3564
                      • Leesburg Georgia USA
                      • SawStop CTS

                      #11
                      Gosh guys, what do you want bmyers to put on the pole? What about this?
                      Click image for larger version

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                      As for the concrete, for setting this type pole or fence post, set the post in the hole and pour in a sack of concrete mix. The moisture in the soil will wet the concrete and overnight it will be hard.

                      Comment

                      • bmyers
                        Veteran Member
                        • Jun 2003
                        • 1371
                        • Fishkill, NY
                        • bt 3100

                        #12
                        When all else fails, hula popper ! Now to convince the wife..
                        Last edited by bmyers; 04-27-2017, 07:43 AM.
                        "Why are there Braille codes on drive-up ATM machines?"

                        Comment

                        • atgcpaul
                          Veteran Member
                          • Aug 2003
                          • 4055
                          • Maryland
                          • Grizzly 1023SLX

                          #13
                          I'm curious why you'd cement the pole in at all. I had to move my fence to put in a patio. The posts were just set in dirt. It took a few good whacks with my digging bar to loosen them and then I was able to pull them up. The posts were in very good condition (12 years old at that point) and I reused them.

                          Comment

                          • bmyers
                            Veteran Member
                            • Jun 2003
                            • 1371
                            • Fishkill, NY
                            • bt 3100

                            #14
                            Originally posted by atgcpaul
                            I'm curious why you'd cement the pole in at all. I had to move my fence to put in a patio. The posts were just set in dirt. It took a few good whacks with my digging bar to loosen them and then I was able to pull them up. The posts were in very good condition (12 years old at that point) and I reused them.
                            Where they PT 4x4's ? This is all wood I milled, no PT.
                            "Why are there Braille codes on drive-up ATM machines?"

                            Comment

                            • cwsmith
                              Veteran Member
                              • Dec 2005
                              • 2737
                              • NY Southern Tier, USA.
                              • BT3100-1

                              #15
                              When I built my 18 x 25 ft deck back in the late 80's I discussed some challenges of building with a few friends and neighbors, some of which were engineers. Pretty much the majority felt that I needed to anchor the posts in concrete. However, one elderly neighbor told me that the problem with the "heaving" of many decks was that the holes weren't deep enough and that it was the concrete itself that posed the problem. In his view, it was the fact that frost got under the concrete and lifted the post. While that could happen to a bare post too, once lifted a bare post might simply settle back down as the ground thawed, but with concrete, the ragged edges would hang in the lifted position and thus shift the deck.

                              In my mind, that made a lot of sense, so I simply dug the holes (by hand.... too many rocks for a post-hole digger), down to as deep as I could reach (about 36"). I put six inches of 'pea" stone in the bottom of the hole, laid a flat rock on top of the gravel and the bottom of the 4 x 4 post on top of that. I then filled in the post hole with a foot or so of gravel and the rest with the clay-like soil we have around here.

                              Well, that was 29 years ago and that deck is still level and solid.

                              On the other hand, our son put in a fence when he was living in Oneonta, NY. He did so with the help and guidance of his FIL, figuring it was a good "bonding" project and he didn't want to bother me with it, preferring it to be sort of surprise. IT looked good at the time, but afterwards it appeared that they dug holes minimally deep, mixing and pouring concrete for all of the posts. It lasted less than two years before the whole thing fell over because of a combination of frost and wind. I had a feeling, but I wasn't about to criticize the job after it was done. Later I just told my son that the next time he wanted to do a project, he should either let me know or do some reading.

                              Of course there's a huge difference between a deck or a fence and putting in a mail box post. But I think the key element is that the post hole needs to be deep enough to properly support the post. The base should be at least below the frost line, and structurally the post should be at a depth that supports the height and weight that may bare on the post. Beyond that, though still very important, is the moisture and subsequent decay challenges, or preservation against insect damage. Not sure how deep Bmyers dug his post, but it looks pretty solid and very well done.

                              CWS
                              Think it Through Before You Do!

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