nutz4lights 2 Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 I will try to post my pictures later, I'm curious how everybody else does it. For the second year in a row, I'm using Tie-Down Engineering earth anchors with turnbuckles. So how do you do it? Post a pic please! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Philip 0 Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 the biggest driving factor are your average wind issues and how hard your ground is the more wind and the softer your ground the more robust your anchor needs to be If you have a good solid ground, pounding a rebar pin 12" or so into the ground would probably be sufficient as long as you aren't on the Oklahoma plains. I use standard spiral dog tie-outs and it worked for my location, but I don't have much wind issues to deal with either Quote Link to post Share on other sites
elmochamp 0 Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 I use three foot contractor stakes that are carried at Lowes and HD. I drive them in the ground about two feet at a 45 degree angle. Works great. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mark Ritter 0 Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 I use three foot contractor stakes that are carried at Lowes and HD. I drive them in the ground about two feet at a 45 degree angle. Works great. I also use these stakes to tie down my trees and my arch. They are great because they have holes predrilled in them to run the guy wire through them. Mark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nutz4lights 2 Posted November 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Thanks everybody, let's see some more pics! I have to get pictures of mine posted, I know... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SPaschall 9 Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Here are my pics from the top and the anchor. The anchor is a 16" screw in eye bolt anchor in about 1' of concrete. SPaschall Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdeditch 2 Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 This what I use, aircraft tie down cables attached to a 3 foot auger type anchor. It has about 80 lbs of cement on top of each one Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FrankAZ 0 Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Nothing major, 3/4" eye bolts set in 300 lbs of concrete (each eye.) Guy wires are 1/4" steel cable, and turnbuckles are 1/2" bolt, and 24" extended out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nutz4lights 2 Posted November 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Here are my pics from the top and the anchor. The anchor is a 16" screw in eye bolt anchor in about 1' of concrete. SPaschall I think this may be the direction I need to go. So did you simply dig out a foot of dirt and pour concrete in it and then set the eye bolt in place while it was hardening? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nutz4lights 2 Posted November 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 This what I use, aircraft tie down cables attached to a 3 foot auger type anchor. It has about 80 lbs of cement on top of each one I tried using a 4' auger earth anchor last year and couldn't get it nearly far enough into the ground. This year I used a 2' version and still couldn't get it to go all the way in. I would definitely consider setting it in concrete if I could keep the eyelet below the "mow line" of my mower.... So did you dig out a hole and pour concrete in and make some jig to hold the auger anchor in place while the concrete hardened? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FrankAZ 0 Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 I tried using a 4' auger earth anchor last year and couldn't get it nearly far enough into the ground. This year I used a 2' version and still couldn't get it to go all the way in. I would definitely consider setting it in concrete if I could keep the eyelet below the "mow line" of my mower.... So did you dig out a hole and pour concrete in and make some jig to hold the auger anchor in place while the concrete hardened? Easy way is to also use rebar, and use some ties to attach the auger/bolt to the rebar to keep it in position. My eye bolts are welded to the rebar. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdeditch 2 Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 I tried using a 4' auger earth anchor last year and couldn't get it nearly far enough into the ground. This year I used a 2' version and still couldn't get it to go all the way in. I would definitely consider setting it in concrete if I could keep the eyelet below the "mow line" of my mower.... So did you dig out a hole and pour concrete in and make some jig to hold the auger anchor in place while the concrete hardened? Yes that is what I did. I dug down about 2 feet and augered the anchor into the ground. Worked great and it should last a while Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nutz4lights 2 Posted November 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Ok cool, thanks everybody! My key would be keeping it below mowing height, so I'd have to cover it up with dirt in the offseason... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RiscIt 10 Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 (edited) 3' Rebar at roughly 55 degrees. Turnbuckles hook on to that. The turn buckly hooks are a tiny bit too small for the rebar, so they "snap" on and stay put. There is also a 2' rebar perpindicular to the first. This helps stops the 3' rebar from pulling forward. Edited November 13, 2009 by RiscIt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SPaschall 9 Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 I think this may be the direction I need to go. So did you simply dig out a foot of dirt and pour concrete in it and then set the eye bolt in place while it was hardening? I dug down about 1 foot, then screwed in the anchor until it was a little below grade. Then I just put my concrete in. I used an open ring clamp and turnbuckles with 1/4 guy wire. The top is just a guy wire o ring from an old antenna pole. I put a hose clamp on top and bottom of it to keep it stable. SPaschall Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nutz4lights 2 Posted November 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 Thanks again everybody, great suggestions here... will try to get a picture of my base this weekend when I'm out there stringing it all up... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nutz4lights 2 Posted December 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 I finally got around to getting pictures taken of display elements. Here is a picture of how I attached my guy wires into the ground. The earth anchor/auger you see there has a nut welded to the top so that I can use my big impact driver to get it into the ground. Our soil must be a real pain a couple feet down because I have snapped the helix off the earth anchor getting them into the ground... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jcazz 0 Posted December 5, 2009 Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 I used 30" earth anchors I picked up for $3.99 each from Menard's. I settled on these after reading up a lot about the best methods to use. A tip for anyone who doesn't know - the earth anchor is strongest when it's in line (parallel) with the load. So I measured and marked the location of my guys, then did some quick-n-dirty angle calcumalatin' and screwed the anchors down in line with the guys. They. Are. Solid. I cannot imagine getting these things out by pulling them. I then used a turnbuckle on the anchor's loop, a quick link on the other end of the turnbuckle attached to the guy wire. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gary Sutherland 0 Posted December 5, 2009 Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 If your anchor points are permanent for future years, sounds like concrete is a good way to go. If you want something quick, you might try some Duckbill anchors. I've used these on quite a few projects (not on a mega tree yet). They're available in different sizes and amazingly strong and easy to install. Here's a description: http://www.earthanchor.com/duckprod.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nutz4lights 2 Posted December 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 I used 30" earth anchors I picked up for $3.99 each from Menard's. I settled on these after reading up a lot about the best methods to use. Looks like you have the same anchors I have almost, mine are also 24" to 30". I wasn't able to get them all the way into our sand that we have for soil.... In trying to "push" one beyond where it wanted to go I had the helical part snap off the rod... actually did that twice. Like you said, luckily they were cheap (although down here we don't have Menards and I think I paid $6 for them at Home Depot or Lowes)... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nutz4lights 2 Posted December 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 If your anchor points are permanent for future years, sounds like concrete is a good way to go. If you want something quick, you might try some Duckbill anchors. I've used these on quite a few projects (not on a mega tree yet). They're available in different sizes and amazingly strong and easy to install. Here's a description: http://www.earthanchor.com/duckprod.html The only thing about those duckbills is that they are permanent (unless I'm not seeing a way to get them out). They look easy though! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darlene Pino 13 Posted December 5, 2009 Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 We are using dog tie out stakes which are really sturdy. We have very hard red clay ground, so we wait till a good rain and put them in while the ground is soft. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nutz4lights 2 Posted December 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 We are using dog tie out stakes which are really sturdy. We have very hard red clay ground, so we wait till a good rain and put them in while the ground is soft. I used eight of those as a "tie down" point for my mega tree ring this year. I use flexible 3/4" conduit which in past years has been whipped around too much by the wind... not this year... that thing is awesome! I used the stakes and then a small turnbuckle... Looks like I have to take a picture of another element of my display to post here! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dotyb 10 Posted December 6, 2009 Report Share Posted December 6, 2009 3/4" bar that is 3' long from Lowes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nutz4lights 2 Posted December 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 3/4" bar that is 3' long from Lowes. Man... I used that stuff to put my 6 foot and 7-1/2 foot twig trees up and it is awesome stuff! Great idea on using that for the guy wires... I forgot those things have the pre-drilled holes in them... got me thinkin'... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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