Anchorage pegs

Yorky

Can anyone suggest an effective way of anchoring a rotary clothes dryer with a cover? It blows away when the wind gets underneath it. At present there is a guy-rope on each arm attached to a peg (a hook-headed smooth metal rod) which are pushed in to the lawn.

When first affixed the pegs are secure but become loose and unsecured after a while.

Would ribbed metal rods make much difference or can you suggest another method?

Thanks in advance.

slowburner

A friends trampoline was doing the same thing. We use bent re-bar hoops about 600mm long, hammered into the ground.

Yorky

slowburner wrote: »

A friends trampoline was doing the same thing. We use bent re-bar hoops about 600mm long, hammered into the ground.

That's what I'm using at the moment - smooth-sided ones. The builders' merchant bent the ends to hook the guy-ropes on to. Is is possible to spiral them ( similar to a corkscrew) ?

Or would ribbed ones be more effective

slowburner

I'd guess that length is the key thing. The pegs really need to get into the sub soil which is more compacted. Re-bar usually has a sort of thread on it which would be 'grippier' than steel rod. The other thing that helps is to hammer them in at an angle - much as you would with tent pegs.
If all else fails you could concrete them in.

Yorky

I think I'll attempt embedding the pegs in concrete. Could you suggest a mix of concrete and the size of block?

slowburner

5 parts aggregate to 1 part cement would be standard or you could get a couple of bags of Post 10 (I think that's what it's called) it's a ready mixed bag of fast setting concrete - just add water - brilliant stuff.

slowburner

I always make the hole as small as comfortably accommodates the tools available to dig it. Normally I use a crow bar to break up the soil etc. and a post hole digger to remove the loosened material.
Depth is the most important thing - you must get into the stable subsoil - how far down this is varies but something like 60 cm should do. If you can dig the hole so that it is wider at the base than the top, it will be more effective.
Since you have decided to use concrete (good choice :pac:) this gives you the opportunity to dispense with the steel rod and use vine eyes instead - those yokes for training vines with a ring on the end of a threaded shaft. You simply push these into the setting concrete and pat the mix in around the shaft of the eye so it is well bedded in. Once the concrete has gone off, you can tie your guy ropes to the rings.
Oh and if you are doing all this on the lawn, keep the finished height of the concrete below lawn mower level.

Yorky

Thanks - I've actually got a bag of ready-mixed sand & cement - could I add some stone chippings to that or would it not be strong enough / take too long to set?

slowburner

No real need to add the chippings, s + c will be fine.

Yorky

Thanks again - what dimensions should I make each hole and how much concrete would I need in total (four holes)?

slowburner

Make the holes as wide as is easy with whatever tools you choose to use. If you're using a spade, make the holes a spade's width.
So if each hole is around 60cm deep and 300mm wide, you will need about 5 bags of sand and 1 of cement to do the whole lot.
That's off the top of my head :pac: