I need to install a treated 4X4 as a gate post through a slab (yet to be
poured).
I can't surface install on one of those galv brackets, because the 4X4 needs
to support
a gate and small fence section.
Would the 4X4 last better if cast right into concrete, or should I make a
well for it, filled with compacted aggregate?
The bottom of an aggregate well can connect to grade for drainage.

Thanks,
Bill

a pressure treated 6"x6" was too small it leans after 10 years on mine
which is holding up a heavy steel framed wooden driveway gate on
hinges.
next time i would secure an 8x8 instead. we installed as if it is a
fencepost in your soil and climate and frost level requirements first.
then installed the driveway slab. but next time we'll try a wheel on
that heavy gate to roll on the driveway and take some of the gate
weight.


bill allemann wrote:
I need to install a treated 4X4 as a gate post through a slab (yet to be
poured).
I can't surface install on one of those galv brackets, because the 4X4 needs
to support
a gate and small fence section.
Would the 4X4 last better if cast right into concrete, or should I make a
well for it, filled with compacted aggregate?
The bottom of an aggregate well can connect to grade for drainage.

Thanks,
Bill

"bill allemann" wrote in message
m...
I need to install a treated 4X4 as a gate post through a slab (yet to be
poured).
I can't surface install on one of those galv brackets, because the 4X4
needs to support
a gate and small fence section.
Would the 4X4 last better if cast right into concrete, or should I make a
well for it, filled with compacted aggregate?
The bottom of an aggregate well can connect to grade for drainage.

Thanks,
Bill

Why not support the post with an eyebolt and cable arrangement? It wouldn't
be hard and would look perfectly fine in that situation. Bury an eyebolt in
a fencepost size chunk of concrete - just like any other post, then attach
the cable to the 4x4 or 6x6 and apply tension with a turnbuckle or similar
arrangement.

The post is gonna sag regardless of how much concrete you sink it into - it
has to support a cantilever load from the gate. The cable would attach to
the top of the gatepost and transfer that load to the cable and its
foundation. the loading would no longer be acting perpendicular to the
support and the whole setup would last much longer.

The weight of the gate isn't very much, just 36" wide wood construction,
pretty much like a door.
And I could hide a guy wire along the adjoining section of fence to help
with the weight of the gate.
also, the concrete won't move. it will be part of a fairly large slab.
I'm mainly concerned about whether direct contact with concrete is bad
regarding
rotting of the treated wood.

Bill



"buffalobill" wrote in message
ups.com...
a pressure treated 6"x6" was too small it leans after 10 years on mine
which is holding up a heavy steel framed wooden driveway gate on
hinges.
next time i would secure an 8x8 instead. we installed as if it is a
fencepost in your soil and climate and frost level requirements first.
then installed the driveway slab. but next time we'll try a wheel on
that heavy gate to roll on the driveway and take some of the gate
weight.


bill allemann wrote:
I need to install a treated 4X4 as a gate post through a slab (yet to be
poured).
I can't surface install on one of those galv brackets, because the 4X4
needs
to support
a gate and small fence section.
Would the 4X4 last better if cast right into concrete, or should I make a
well for it, filled with compacted aggregate?
The bottom of an aggregate well can connect to grade for drainage.

Thanks,
Bill

bill allemann wrote:
I need to install a treated 4X4 as a gate post through a slab (yet to be
poured).
I can't surface install on one of those galv brackets, because the 4X4 needs
to support
a gate and small fence section.
Would the 4X4 last better if cast right into concrete, or should I make a
well for it, filled with compacted aggregate?
The bottom of an aggregate well can connect to grade for drainage.

Just spend a couple extra bucks and make that one 4x4 a .60 pcf (or .80
pcf if you can find it). Paint the bottom with some tar or creosote,
and make sure to put a cap on the top. Go ahead and sink it right into
the concrete. Slope the concrete slightly away from the post. It'll
last forever.

Ether Jones wrote:
bill allemann wrote:
I need to install a treated 4X4 as a gate post through a slab (yet to be
poured).
I can't surface install on one of those galv brackets, because the 4X4 needs
to support
a gate and small fence section.
Would the 4X4 last better if cast right into concrete, or should I make a
well for it, filled with compacted aggregate?
The bottom of an aggregate well can connect to grade for drainage.

Just spend a couple extra bucks and make that one 4x4 a .60 pcf (or .80
pcf if you can find it). Paint the bottom with some tar or creosote,
and make sure to put a cap on the top. Go ahead and sink it right into
the concrete. Slope the concrete slightly away from the post. It'll
last forever.

The other posters are correct; if the gate has substantial weight and
you are cantilevering the entire weight on one 4x4, it will bend over
time (probably sooner rather than later). In my prior post I was
addressing the issue of wood deterioration only.

bill allemann wrote:
I need to install a treated 4X4 as a gate post through a slab (yet to be
poured).
I can't surface install on one of those galv brackets, because the 4X4 needs
to support
a gate and small fence section.
Would the 4X4 last better if cast right into concrete, or should I make a
well for it, filled with compacted aggregate?
The bottom of an aggregate well can connect to grade for drainage.

Thanks,
Bill

PT wood can be installed with concrete poured around it. Just make
sure the bottom of the post is on bare ground and not on concrete so
you won't have a water retention problem with the post.

Bob

gate posts would be better if they were steel I thin, or at least if
there was something less subject to envionmental effects. Pressure
treated wood comes in a wide range of qualities (can't call it grades I
don't think there is a distinction) with some being very resistant and
others no so much. I would go with a marine rade p-treated wood as they
are designed to be under water for decades, not just rained on.

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bill allemann wrote:
I need to install a treated 4X4 as a gate post through a slab (yet to be
poured).
I can't surface install on one of those galv brackets, because the 4X4 needs
to support
a gate and small fence section.
Would the 4X4 last better if cast right into concrete, or should I make a
well for it, filled with compacted aggregate?
The bottom of an aggregate well can connect to grade for drainage.

Thanks,
Bill

On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 01:30:31 GMT, "bill allemann"
wrote:

I need to install a treated 4X4 as a gate post through a slab (yet to be
poured).
I can't surface install on one of those galv brackets, because the 4X4 needs
to support
a gate and small fence section.
Would the 4X4 last better if cast right into concrete, or should I make a
well for it, filled with compacted aggregate?
The bottom of an aggregate well can connect to grade for drainage.

Thanks,
Bill



A 4x4 sounds too small. I recommend a 6x6 post unless your gate is
small. There should be concrete between the posts or a beam
overhead--the gate will tend to pull the posts together.