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  1. #1
    Senior Member HamMike's Avatar
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    4x4 post supports

    So I want to setup a spot to hang in the backyard. I am thinking about using for by four posts in two foot holes secured with quickcrete. Has anyone else done this? Is it strong enough? I have a couple ideas to run a beam between them to keep from bowing in.
    "He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man." Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

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  2. #2
    Senior Member Doctari's Avatar
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    I have hung from a 4 x 4 fence post & a tree without incident. I don't know how deep the 4 x 4 was, but I know the guy that put it in & I'm sure he went at least 3', the 4 x 4 is about 8' tall (the part out of the ground) & I tied on at about 5', when I (200 lbs) got in the hammock, the top of the post moved in (bowed) about 2". This is an old (15+ years?) pressure treated 4 x 4.

    Edit: "My" 4 x 4 is just a few miles SW of you in Harveysburg (Caesar creek area) 3 miles from I 71.
    Last edited by Doctari; 03-27-2010 at 12:55.
    When you have a backpack on, no matter where you are, you’re home.
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  3. #3
    Member hang um high's Avatar
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    I'd double that depth to 4', add an 80 lb bag of quickcrete in each hole and with a crossbrace on the top would be confident to hang from it. Thats assuming fairly stable soil with decent drainage.

  4. #4
    Senior Member gargoyle's Avatar
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    Sounds like a winner of a design Mike. Get digging...

    and post some photos. good luck.
    Ambulo tua ambulo.

  5. #5
    Senior Member oldgringo's Avatar
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    Set your post below your freeze line...I'm guessing ~24". Do not set it in concrete, which will hold moisture around the pole. Set the pole on 6" of pea gravel, and backfill with more of the same, tamping as you go. A dry post is a long lived post.

    Select your posts with care...a knot in something as small as a 4x4 will weaken it substantially.

    I like the overhead beam idea.
    Dave

    "Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton

  6. #6
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    You'll want to put the post below the frost line so frost heave doesn't move the post. Up here building code is 4'. A quick google on Ohio frost line says 2'10" to 3' for Ohio but I don't know what your building code states.

    Good luck.

  7. #7
    Senior Member SkyDog's Avatar
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    RE: The Crossbeam

    I use the metal "pipe" top-rail that is used for chain link fence. IIRC, it's 1 3/4" diameter. Simply use a hole saw and put a hole thru the 4X4 AFTER you've got 'em in the ground - easier to keep it "level" that way. I drilled a small hole thru the ends of the pipe and keep it from slipping out using a bent nail (clevis pin is better). Allows me to remove the pipe. And, the pipe is less likely to damage your tarp than the splinters in a 4X4.

    Actually... I didn't bury the uprights. Made a simple tripod with scrapes of plywood. I can take it all down in minutes and get it out of the yard.

    Google Risk's $25 hammock stand for some more ideas. His stand comes apart & fits in the back of a small pickup to take to those camp sites where there are no trees.
    Happy Trails,
    J.D.

    I never drink water. I'm afraid it will become habit-forming.

  8. #8
    Senior Member HamMike's Avatar
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    Thanks for all the input guys I'll post pics when I get done.
    "He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man." Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

    Please check out the link below to show your love for hammocks!www.zazzle.com/hammocklife

  9. #9
    Senior Member
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    I have 4x4x 12ft posts buried ~4 feet into soil that resembles sand. No footings. Kiwi trellis posts. No cross beam or bracing. Just posts sticking straight into the ground. For now (new Kiwi vine) they have worked for "backyard" test hangs. The sandy soil with proper tamping packs down firm.
    Noel V.

  10. #10
    Senior Member sk8rs_dad's Avatar
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    A good idea I read here was to sink a large diameter pipe in the ground at or slightly below grade level then use the next size down as your uprights. The posts can be removed to cut the grass.

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