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rotarex

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
anyone who has install them whats your feedback on it?

i am doing my 1st install, haven't seen the product yet but apparently its 8' post and only 2ft in the ground. it don't make sence to me

install is dig 4 ft, fill up 3' push the hollow post in 1.5' ft from grade into cement, then fill up.

ill have to figure out as i go

the last time i seen someone do vinyl, the guy set a steel 2x2 post 8ft O.C

seems like there is a few types out there
 
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#2 ·
I installed 1 vinyl fence. Was about the same drill but what I dont get is why you are digging 4 foot and refilling 3 ft? we just dug 2 foot or a bit deeper and if we needed to adjust up we filled back. One thing I found to make life easier was a 5 gallo bucket with a hole cut in bottom the size of the post opening with some 1xs framing the hole on bottom of bucket. Simply place bucket over top of post and dump concrete into it usinf a chunk of rebar to help it down. We also tossed a couple 6 foot pieces of rebar into the post.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
can you do a quick drawing on paint so i can visualize this pic?
thanks

didn't the fence shake alot with it being hollow and only set that low down?

im digging 4 ft so the entire footing don't pop out, also it will make the post more stiff............

don't know yet how it looks, going to the factory where they make it to see the setup.
as the client of mine works there, so he told me how to do it, but it dont make sense to me.
i would expect to put a 4x4 pt post and slide the sleeve over, that seems more stable.

also its PVC so i expect it to look like PVC years later, hopefully, as the guy sold a few houses for me.
 
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#5 ·
sorry to make extra posts but I have to get post count up to post picture.

but here is how we did it more or less.

set first post secure with 2 2x4 to hold plumb.
fill hole with concrete.
set fence section.
sec next post fill hole with concrete 1 2x4 to hold
and so on.
then next day while setting more fence 1 guy would go back and fill the posts from day before with concrete.

The fence was done for a Cabinet salesman I install for and now 3 years later that fence is solid!

I was unsure about it at first as well but it works.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I used to build vinyl fences all the time. The company I worked for had a shop set up with a hydraulic router table for mass producing the posts. If your design is simple and you are on flat ground, it should take just as much time as a wood fence. But if it's on a hill or uneven ground, and if your design is more complex Then plan on spending about three or four times the amount of time, compared to a wood fence, building it.

On uneven ground, the holes in your posts have to be designed to accommodate the slope. It will get real time consuming especially if you haven't done one before, and you don't have a router jig.

I always installed them hollow too, about two feet into concrete. The plastic posts are really thick, they are not going to bend. The only time I ever got one to bend is when I had to rip one out of the ground, I tied a rope around it and hooked it to my truck.
 
#8 ·
Not to knock the installers.... but long term plastic fences dont seem to last.... I've been paid to remove quite a few in the last couple of years. The one shown below was installed in a subdivision in Toronto. Many of the plastic gates are falling apart. Have they improved any?
Image


Image


Replace with wood and moved back to create a parking pad.

Image
 
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#9 ·
SAH said:
Not to knock the installers.... but long term plastic fences dont seem to last.... I've been paid to remove quite a few in the last couple of years. The one shown below was installed in a subdivision in Toronto. Many of the plastic gates are falling apart. Have they improved any?
Image


Image


Replace with wood and moved back to create a parking pad.

Image
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It depends on the manufacturer. You pay for what you get. Vinyl is not my favorite type of fence but the vinyl I sell is good quality. Welded gates, Never had a call back.
 
#11 ·
Not quite hollow, no wood inside either, just angled sheet metal.
 
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Discussion starter · #13 ·
same thing i said to the client, i said there is no way the gate is going to hold, because its holding on to a hollow post, also that post will tip over in no time seeing its less than 2ft in cement, so my suggestion was to use a 4x4 post rip it down to cover a 2x4 so i can T brace the post as long as it don't have a post cap, will look at the design tommoro and see if it was design by a contractor or accountant
 
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#14 ·
rotarex said:
same thing i said to the client, i said there is no way the gate is going to hold, because its holding on to a hollow post, also that post will tip over in no time seeing its less than 2ft in cement, so my suggestion was to use a 4x4 post rip it down to cover a 2x4 so i can T brace the post as long as it don't have a post cap, will look at the design tommoro and see if it was design by a contractor or accountant
Click to expand...
Check to see if the manufacturer has a thicker diameter gate post. If not, they probably sell aluminum post stiffeners.
 
#16 ·
Gate posts should be filled with concrete and a rebar stuck down in it.(just make sure all the hardware is fastened on first before filling it)I usually even fill the line posts up to the first rail so they don't flex at ground level if it is a taller solid fence that will catch wind.I've put up a couple dozen over the last 10-12 years and no issues yet,even with the strong Kansas wind.
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
i seen the setup today, i really don't know how the hell this post will stay in the concrete, personally i would like to set a 5x5 PT post and use this vinyl as a sleeve, but apparently this thing stays put, downfall to it or maybe a good thing there is no stepping on the fence as while you set the post you have to adjust the height rite away as there is pre cut holes in the post.

in 3 weeks or less im doing the job ill post pics and my process
 
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#18 ·
I'm not a big fan of the short posts if they were 9-10' I would feel better, but regardless, if you set hollow posts, you MUST fill the interior with concrete to above grade.

Reason- We had to give a ton of bids replacing people's vinyl fencing after straightline winds blew through last year. In EVERY case where people just stabbed the post into a hole filled with wet mud/concrete....the panels stayed in place between the posts, which transfered ALL the wind load onto the posts, and with only 2' buried on a hollow tube, right where the tube/post met grade...it acted like a hinge point, and the vinyl/poly posts ALL buckled at grade and laid over onto the ground.

I install wooden posts first and then put the vinyl/composite sleeves over them. This does a couple things:
1. gives an absolutely positively solid posts for panels and gate openings
2. makes installing screws through the panel brackets into the posts quick and easy with solid backing....otherwise with posts filled with concrete we've had to use the SDS to predrill each hole
3. did i mention absoltely solid posts?? LOL

Just one of those things that the will either pay me extra to buy/install wooden posts inside, or I wont do it...vinyl fencing both DIY and professionally installed dont have a good track record in high winds around here when it's hollow post only stabbed in mud.
 
#19 ·
IHI said:
I'm not a big fan of the short posts if they were 9-10' I would feel better, but regardless, if you set hollow posts, you MUST fill the interior with concrete to above grade.

Reason- We had to give a ton of bids replacing people's vinyl fencing after straightline winds blew through last year. In EVERY case where people just stabbed the post into a hole filled with wet mud/concrete....the panels stayed in place between the posts, which transfered ALL the wind load onto the posts, and with only 2' buried on a hollow tube, right where the tube/post met grade...it acted like a hinge point, and the vinyl/poly posts ALL buckled at grade and laid over onto the ground.

I install wooden posts first and then put the vinyl/composite sleeves over them. This does a couple things:
1. gives an absolutely positively solid posts for panels and gate openings
2. makes installing screws through the panel brackets into the posts quick and easy with solid backing....otherwise with posts filled with concrete we've had to use the SDS to predrill each hole
3. did i mention absoltely solid posts?? LOL

Just one of those things that the will either pay me extra to buy/install wooden posts inside, or I wont do it...vinyl fencing both DIY and professionally installed dont have a good track record in high winds around here when it's hollow post only stabbed in mud.
Click to expand...
If you install vinyl fencing that uses the panel/bracket system then you are off to the wrong start from the beginning. T&G vinyl is the only way to go. I have installed some vinyl posts that were more sturdy than a SYP 4x4. It all comes down to what manufacturer you use and what you are willing to pay.
 
#20 ·
curapa said:
If you install vinyl fencing that uses the panel/bracket system then you are off to the wrong start from the beginning. T&G vinyl is the only way to go. I have installed some vinyl posts that were more sturdy than a SYP 4x4. It all comes down to what manufacturer you use and what you are willing to pay.
Click to expand...
rong, comes down to what the consumer is willing to pay...it's not my house I'm working on, it's theirs, and their money...not mine.;) When I show them the option of the T&G vinyl fence system and heavy duty panels @ $80/ft vs the cheaper options starting at $24/ft....99% of the time they opt out for the cheap crap....it's the american way
 
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