Bit chilly down here & believe it or not, I have two enquiries for putting
in new fence posts.

I know concrete doesn't like cold temperatures & it occurs to me that the
concrete at the bottom of a 2' deep hole will be colder than ambient air
temperature.

But how much colder is it 2' below ground level?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Bit chilly down here & believe it or not, I have two enquiries for putting
in new fence posts.

I know concrete doesn't like cold temperatures & it occurs to me that the
concrete at the bottom of a 2' deep hole will be colder than ambient air
temperature.

But how much colder is it 2' below ground level?

I'd have thought it would be warmer myself.

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Bit chilly down here & believe it or not, I have two enquiries for
putting in new fence posts.

I know concrete doesn't like cold temperatures & it occurs to me that
the concrete at the bottom of a 2' deep hole will be colder than
ambient air temperature.

But how much colder is it 2' below ground level?

Warmer! Why are water pipes buried at a minimum of 18"? Well, that used to
be the guidelines. Might have changed since I was actively involved in these
things.

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Bit chilly down here & believe it or not, I have two enquiries for putting
in new fence posts.

I know concrete doesn't like cold temperatures & it occurs to me that the
concrete at the bottom of a 2' deep hole will be colder than ambient air
temperature.

But how much colder is it 2' below ground level?


I'd suggest that it is the other way around in cold weather. My money
would be on the very bottom of a 2' deep hole, filled with
concrete/post, staying above freezing even if the air temperature goes
below. I mean, what would be making it colder than the current 0.0 C?

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
m...
Bit chilly down here & believe it or not, I have two enquiries for putting
in new fence posts.

I know concrete doesn't like cold temperatures & it occurs to me that the
concrete at the bottom of a 2' deep hole will be colder than ambient air
temperature.

But how much colder is it 2' below ground level?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
m...
Bit chilly down here & believe it or not, I have two enquiries for putting
in new fence posts.

I know concrete doesn't like cold temperatures & it occurs to me that the
concrete at the bottom of a 2' deep hole will be colder than ambient air
temperature.

But how much colder is it 2' below ground level?



Why would it be colder?
Water mains and services have to be at a certain depth to avoid freezing.

mark

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Bit chilly down here & believe it or not, I have two enquiries for
putting in new fence posts.

I know concrete doesn't like cold temperatures & it occurs to me that
the concrete at the bottom of a 2' deep hole will be colder than
ambient air temperature.


it will be warmer at the bottom of the hole than at the top

But how much colder is it 2' below ground level?

for fence posts, you don't have any worries WRT frost - you may get a small
amount of spalling at the uppermost surface of the concrete, but it's not on
show, nor is it a finish - it's just bulk,[1] so it's irrelevant.

[1]
almost all the fencing contractors I know don't even mix the concrete - it's
just ballast, with a small amount of cement here and there in pockets, some
don't use cement at all and just stamp down the ballast, or wedge the post
tight with bricks, rocks, whatever and then fill the hole around with soil -
they never move.

as a footnote, I'd like to add that last week I mixed 6 cubic feet of MOT
(50kg) with half a shovelful of cement (1kg) and water to fill in behind a
retaining wall and a fence...two days later I couldn't make a mark in it
swinging a pick axe at it, although to be fair, MOT mixed with water and
laid like concrete sets like it without cement.

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

On Feb 2, 4:43*pm, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Bit chilly down here & believe it or not, I have two enquiries for putting
in new fence posts.

I know concrete doesn't like cold temperatures & it occurs to me that the
concrete at the bottom of a 2' deep hole will be colder than ambient air
temperature.

But how much colder is it 2' below ground level?

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk

What is freeze saftey depth for water pipe of your area. Deeper you go
warmer it gets.

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Bit chilly down here & believe it or not, I have two enquiries for putting
in new fence posts.

I know concrete doesn't like cold temperatures & it occurs to me that the
concrete at the bottom of a 2' deep hole will be colder than ambient air
temperature.

But how much colder is it 2' below ground level?


Cold air sinks. If the hole is left open the top of the concrete will be
affected by sub zero temperatures. The rest will be kept warm by the
ground around it so overall no worries. In the UK frost does not
penetrate very far. If you are really worried add a few beers. That
keeps me warm.

On Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:57:18 GMT
"Phil L" wrote:


almost all the fencing contractors I know don't even mix the concrete - it's
just ballast, with a small amount of cement here and there in pockets, some
don't use cement at all and just stamp down the ballast, or wedge the post
tight with bricks, rocks, whatever and then fill the hole around with soil -
they never move.

And, since it drains so well, the posts don't rot so quickly either. A
solid lump of concrete is a post-shaped sump for water to sit in.

In the deep mines the temperature is often very hot, the gold mines
(deepest, several kilometres down) it can be at 50C+. This is not,
however, why it stays warm 30cm down - that's just insulation.

R.

The Medway Handyman wrote:


I know concrete doesn't like cold temperatures & it occurs to me that the
concrete at the bottom of a 2' deep hole will be colder than ambient air
temperature.


Not like that Gordon Brown chap to repeal any laws, particularly the
First Law.

flandersandswan
Heat cannot of itself pass...
/flandersandswan

--
Kevin Poole
****Use current date to reply (e.g. )****

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Bit chilly down here & believe it or not, I have two enquiries for putting
in new fence posts.

I know concrete doesn't like cold temperatures & it occurs to me that the
concrete at the bottom of a 2' deep hole will be colder than ambient air
temperature.

No, its a fair bit warmer.


But how much colder is it 2' below ground level?


its about a degree or two warmer than in night time.


Most water main pipes are buried a meter too a meter and a half down, to
prevent freezing.

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
m...
Bit chilly down here & believe it or not, I have two enquiries for putting
in new fence posts.

I know concrete doesn't like cold temperatures & it occurs to me that the
concrete at the bottom of a 2' deep hole will be colder than ambient air
temperature.

But how much colder is it 2' below ground level?

Is there a GSHP fitted?
If so it could be colder, until you puncture the pipes.

On Tue, 3 Feb 2009 07:13:58 +0000, TheOldFellow
wrote:

On Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:57:18 GMT
"Phil L" wrote:


almost all the fencing contractors I know don't even mix the concrete - it's
just ballast, with a small amount of cement here and there in pockets, some
don't use cement at all and just stamp down the ballast, or wedge the post
tight with bricks, rocks, whatever and then fill the hole around with soil -
they never move.

And, since it drains so well, the posts don't rot so quickly either. A
solid lump of concrete is a post-shaped sump for water to sit in.

I always sit posts on a layer of ballast. Then add postcrete around
it. Any damp can drain away.

--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) Owing to the amount of spam posted via googlegroups and
(")_(") their inaction to the problem. I am blocking most articles
posted from there. If you wish your postings to be seen by
everyone you will need use a different method of posting.
See http://improve-usenet.org