To Mix or Not to Mix? That is the Question!

I get this question a lot from customers that have an installer doing their fence. The installer walks up to a post hole, tosses in a bag?s worth of dry concrete mix, adds a little water on top and claims it will set on its own below grade with the moisture from the ground. So, the questions I get is ?that the proper way to do it??. The short answer is ?no?.

Any concrete producer will tell you that it should be mixed wet and then poured. Concrete trucks drive around with mixing wet product for a reason. Think of it this way. You can toss eggs, milk, flour and sugar into a cake pan unmixed, cook it and get something that sort of resembles cake. However, its realistically going to be a few cakey spots with blobs of dry flour and sugar. Whereas if you mix it, the cake comes out evenly cooked (and probably tasting a lot better). So, the short answer is:

MIX AND POUR YOUR POST HOLE CONCRETE

Now, I can already hear folks crying ?FOUL? on me steering you from the dry-bag method. I do agree that the dry-bag method will mix to an extent and hold. Your fence posts are not going to fall over with this method, but you will never know until a problem surfaces.

I have dug up obvious dry-bag post footings. You will find a solid concrete top, but as you pull it out of the ground, the lower portion is probably going to be drier and brittle.

As for the whole ?it will wick moisture from the ground? in the dry-bag method, that is true to a certain extent. Once that outer surface hardens, water is probably not going to get a whole lot further in. It also depends on how wet your ground is. I know its so dry up here in Ohio that my yard is cracking in places. So there is probably not a whole lot of moisture for that cement to absorb until enough rain fall penetrates down there. Given the rain fall this year, that isn?t something I would want to chance waiting on!

So, when in doubt, MIX AND POUR your cement. That is how the concrete producers envision it being used and its what we advise here at Iron Fence Shop as well.

Iron Fence Stair-Stepped to Follow Yard Slope/ Grade

Most yards have some level of grade to them. This can be anything from a slight variation to a complete hillside. This can impact how you approach installing your wrought iron fence and is a question we get asked fairly often.

While some manufacturers offer a panel that ?racks? or bends in an angle to work with grade, we do not. Why? The answer is simple: strength and durability. In order for a panel to rack up and down for grade, you have to have one weaker weld that will bend. Not only does this decrease the overall strength of a panel, but when you bend that weld, it will often pop the finish off and create a potential rust area. We don?t feel the merits of offering racking outweigh those very significant weaknesses. For that reason, our Stronghold Iron is welded solid. Our panels do not rack. So, you ask, how do I handle the grade in my yard with your panels? Well, that depends on how much grade we are dealing with, so first we need to determine that.

This can easily be done with an 8ft length of board, a level and a tape measure. First, lay your board on the ground in the direction the fence will be running. Next, set your level on top of the board. On the end facing down the grade, pick the board up until the level shows even. Now measure from the bottom of your board end you are holding up down to the grass. This is your slope over 8ft (the same length as our panels). Now we know what we are working with!

There is no hard and fast rule on what range of slope measurement translates to the best method to address it. We will go through a couple options, but the best way to select a method is to give us a call or email us so we can get a feel for your yard and wants to help make the best decision. Here are some options when dealing with grade:

• Do Nothing! ? A fence of any kind does not generally follow every dip and hill in a yard. Small variations of only a couple inches can be left alone unless you are trying to keep a small pet in. You can always re-grade by leveling off a small bump with a shovel or back filling with some type of landscaping material. The first photo in our gallery shows a beautiful example of someone using landscape stone to work around a grade in a corner.

• Stair-Stepping? This is where you mount a panel between your posts and then mount the next one a little higher or lower to follow grade. The end effect is a stepped look. This is traditionally how fences addressed grade. Depending on how much grade you are dealing with, you may need longer posts. Your Iron Fence Shop sales professional can help advise if that is necessary. Larger slopes may require splitting panels. For instance, an 8 inch gap can be reduced to a 4 inch gap by splitting a panel and putting a post in center. The gallery below shows a couple examples of stair-stepped panel installations.

• Custom Panels? Sometimes a slope is too great to be handled by stair-stepping. That, or a customer does not like the look of a stair-stepped fence. In this case, we can custom make panels that will follow your particular grade. All we need is your slope measurements (that we outlined above how to get). Let us know those and we can custom make a panel that will follow the slope. There is a CAD of a custom slope panel in the gallery below.

Have more questions on how to deal with installing an iron fence on a grade? Give us a call or shoot us an email!

Double or Single Gate? Both have Pros and Cons for Your Iron or Aluminum Driveway Gate

Estate/ Driveway gates typically come in two configurations as well as being available in both aluminum and iron. A single gate and a double gate setup. For the purpose of discussion here, we are going to consider a 12ft Estate/ Driveway gate since it is one of the most popular sizes. A single 12ft gate is just what the name implies. It is a one leaf gate that is 12ft across. In a double gate setup, there are two leafs. So with our example of the 12ft gate, there would be two 6ft wide leafs that add up to a 12ft gate. Also, for the sake of this discussion, we are only talking about the more common (and easier) swing setup. Although the majority of this will apply to a sliding or roll gate as well, that style of gate has a more complex setup with different hardware and we will touch on that another time.

So does one style have advantages over the other? That really depends on your individual setup along with your desired look and operation of the gate. Here are some of the basics pros and cons of each to help in the decision process:

SINGLE PIECE IRON & ALUMINUM DRIVEWAY GATES

PROS

• You only need one automatic opener (if using one), so it costs less.
• They require half the hardware (hinges, bolts, no drop rods, etc) of a double gate.

CONS

• You need double the swing distance behind the gate. A 12ft single gate needs 12ft of space behind the gate to swing freely. A 12ft double gate would need only 6ft.
• They are more expensive to ship due to their long length.
• You need a more expensive and heavier duty post to hang the gate off of since all the weight is on one post. A 12ft single gate needs to use our largest 66 post. A 12ft double gate can use our 44 posts.
• They are a little harder to install since you have all the weight and leverage of a single piece gate to lift up and drop on your hinge mounts
• Limited sizes compared to double gates

DOUBLE IRON & ALUMINUM DRIVEWAY GATES

PROS

• You need less swing distance behind the gate. A 12ft double gate would need only 6ft whereas a single gate would need all 12.
• You can use a less-expensive and lighter duty post. A 12ft single gate needs to use our largest 66 post. A 12ft double gate can use our heavy duty 44 posts.
• More available sizes in double gates.
• Double gates are the traditional look and have a more ?elegant? appearance when opening from center.

CONS

• Double gates require more hardware. Hinges on both sides and drop rods for the center.
• If you utilize an automatic gate opener, it will be more expensive since you will need and opener motor for each leaf.

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As you can see, there are pros and cons to each and your individual needs may help sway you to one over the other. I would estimate the split of gates we sell is probably 95% double gate and 5% single gate. In most instances the additional widths, easier installation and cheaper shipping typically steer folks to a double gate.

A Custom Iron Driveway Gate with Oak Branch Castings

While we offer many different heights and styles of fence and gates, there are some instances where folks need or want a custom design for their iron or aluminum fence and gates. We offer a full line of custom services and all of our custom jobs are subjected to the same quality-approval processes as our standard product. Additionally, our custom products carry the same 25 year iron and limited lifetime aluminum warranties.

Some of the custom options we typically work with include:

1. Custom widths and heights for fence and gates

2. Welded in letters or initials in gates

3. Different finial tips for the fence and gates (Fleur De Lis, Triads, Texas Star, etc)

4. Scroll, leaf and vine work welded into the gates or fence

5. Arched gate and fence panels

6. Different styles of fence and gates

7. Iron fence panels welded to match slope/ grade

We will price each custom job individually based on what it is we are customizing. Once you order, we will do Computer Aided Drawings (CADs) of the custom pieces for your approval to fully ensure that the custom product is going to come out the way you envisioned it. Check out a small sample of some of our custom work:

5ft Tall Iron Fence and Arched Gate Used for Deck and patio Enclosure

Daren Shaltis from New Jersey sent us some pictures of his completed project using our 5ft tall Traditional grade Stronghold Iron fence and gate. Here is what Daren had to say:

?Jason,

The fence arrived last week andI put it up this past weekend. Just wanted tolet you know Iam very happy with it and appreciate all the help & service you provided. I?ve attachedsome pics for you next brochure!!! I would absolutely recommend your company to anyone.

Thanks again!!!

Daren Shaltis?

Great job Daren! And the arched walk gate adds a nice touch!