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Switched to concrete anchors for every gate post after a bad job in Austin last spring
Used to think digging deep and packing gravel was plenty for gate posts, but after a 6-foot gate sagged in 4 months I'll never skip anchors again. Anyone else had a gate fail because they skimped on the base?
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baker.simon16d ago
Holding off on concrete anchors and gravel and look at the physics instead. Gate weight pulls down and outward on the hinges, not just straight down. A heavy 6 foot gate acts like a lever on the post. Gravel packs tight but it doesn't resist that sideways lever force as well as concrete locking the whole post in place. The sag in Austin probably came from the post tilting a bit in the gravel over time, not just settling straight down. Concrete locks that twist action out completely.
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Nah man I gotta push back on this one. I've been running gates for 15 years and never used concrete anchors once. Properly packed gravel with a heavy duty post works fine if you dig deep enough and use the right gravel. Concrete anchors can actually trap moisture against the post and rot it out way faster than gravel that lets water drain away. Plus if you ever need to adjust or replace that post down the road you're screwed with concrete. Sounds like the Austin job went bad because of the soil or not digging deep enough, not because gravel was the wrong choice lol.
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