Protecting an exposed wooden post holding up a patio.

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kingdragonfly

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#277369 11-Oct-2020 12:08

I have three exposed 100 x 100 wooden post holding up a deck extension.

The turning space is a bit cramped, even for a compact car.

I was thinking of using a house wall mounted convex parking mirror to help see when you're about to collide with the posts.

Any other ideas? I really don't want someone to crack the post with a turning car, as I'm guessing it would be an expensive fix.

The council plans have it marked as 100 x 75 C3 posts, on concrete footings.

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#2582654 11-Oct-2020 13:11

Are you trying to guide your own car or warn off Joey Random?

There are lots of parking assist options for inside garages that might be adaptable for outside. How exposed is it?

And do you have aesthetic requirements? e.g. Is a tennis ball on a string likely to be acceptable?

Bung

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#2582655 11-Oct-2020 13:15

How close do you have to get to the posts? Can you bolt a length of sleeper to the ground keeping cars clear?

Failing that it shouldn't be too expensive to replace a post but it wouldn't be fencing grade timber.

kingdragonfly

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#2582662 11-Oct-2020 14:11

mdf: Are you trying to guide your own car or warn off Joey Random?

There are lots of parking assist options for inside garages that might be adaptable for outside. How exposed is it?

And do you have aesthetic requirements? e.g. Is a tennis ball on a string likely to be acceptable?

Joey Random protection would be good.

I'm not worried about aesthetics.

I was even thinking about wild ideas like an infrared beam with would turn on a light when broken.

kingdragonfly

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#2582663 11-Oct-2020 14:12

Bung: How close do you have to get to the posts? Can you bolt a length of sleeper to the ground keeping cars clear?

Failing that it shouldn't be too expensive to replace a post but it wouldn't be fencing grade timber.

I think replacing the timber would involve jacking up the patio, so something I wouldn't want to do.

mdf

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#2582666 11-Oct-2020 14:36

I've seen the traffic light style ones in action. You'd need to check that they're obvious enough for your purposes:

https://www.ebay.com/b/Garage-Parking-Sensors/bn_7024834562

I've got images of scaring the bejaysus out of Joey Randoom with flashing lights and sirens now.

kingdragonfly

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#2582667 11-Oct-2020 14:38

mdf:
I've seen the traffic light style ones in action. You'd need to check that they're obvious enough for your purposes:

https://www.ebay.com/b/Garage-Parking-Sensors/bn_7024834562

I've got images of scaring the bejaysus out of Joey Randoom with flashing lights and sirens now.

Very cool. Cheers

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kingdragonfly

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#2582668 11-Oct-2020 14:40

I thought about it, and remembered boats had the same problem.

I found these boat fenders, since they are already in NZ

https://www.haurakifenders.co.nz/store/p10/Marina_Fender_-_1m_Straight.html

Froglotion

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#2582685 11-Oct-2020 17:10

Perhaps a couple of bolt down bollards? Dynabolt them next to the post, down into the footings.

richms

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#2582687 11-Oct-2020 17:25

mdf:

I've seen the traffic light style ones in action. You'd need to check that they're obvious enough for your purposes:

https://www.ebay.com/b/Garage-Parking-Sensors/bn_7024834562

I've got images of scaring the bejaysus out of Joey Randoom with flashing lights and sirens now.

I have tried both a locally available one of those, and an aliexpress one and they go red at a point that I would call green, about 500mm on one that I had, no way to adjust it down.

I would want red to be almost touching the sensor because I can get to 500mm away without something to help me.

Richard rich.ms

kingdragonfly

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#2582694 11-Oct-2020 18:12

Froglotion:
Perhaps a couple of bolt down bollards? Dynabolt them next to the post, down into the footings.

Also a good idea

WinNZ90

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#2582716 11-Oct-2020 20:05

I would look at how councils have been informed to do it, they use massive big posts as bump stops to protect things and to keep vehicles out of parks.

This also covers the what if. 'What if Joey Random goes out or comes in an full speed (can happen)', if you think of this what if and think of the sort of damage that could be caused its worth going with the big posts, cause the damage could go into the thousands.

Thought a diagram would help explain, do to both patio post, you'll want the posts in the ground no less than 1 m. The posts are also know as gate way posts, used to hang gates off.

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tchart

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#2582766 11-Oct-2020 22:37

Might be a bit obvious but why not just put a big pot plant in front of the post?

A nice 50cm high one with a reasonable plant in it would do nicely.

It would certainly be noticeable and the driver would likely stop promptly if they hit it.

Plus it would look nice.

kingdragonfly

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#2582812 12-Oct-2020 07:40

tchart: Might be a bit obvious but why not just put a big pot plant in front of the post?

A nice 50cm high one with a reasonable plant in it would do nicely.

It would certainly be noticeable and the driver would likely stop promptly if they hit it.

Plus it would look nice.

Elegant solution, but there's hardly any space.

I've already purchased the boat fenders, since they're white on white, the right size, and pretty cheap.

I'm going to get a tradesman to move to downspout to the side, instead of the front, to make it less exposed.

Cheers

MikeAqua

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#2582921 12-Oct-2020 10:36

It takes quite a lot of force to break posts like that and it looks like any collision would be low speed.

Minor damage to the car is a more likely outcome. I like the idea of using berth fenders, clever idea.

Mike

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#2583163 12-Oct-2020 15:35

Just a general thought, those posts look pretty stick-like for what they're holding up, I'd have expected SED poles, which would also mean not having to worry about a car bumping into them.

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