Sunday, February 19, 2012

Mounting Wrought Iron Fences In Concrete

Wrought iron fences can bring quiet elegance to your landscape.


If you have an existing concrete pool deck, patio or other area on your property that you want to enclose with a wrought iron fence, it's not necessary to rip out the concrete to install the fence. Wrought iron fences are easily installed on top of concrete surfaces. The fence manufacturer will supply you with fence posts modified to include a bottom plate to use to secure the posts to the concrete pad. Using the same principle, wrought iron railings can be attached to brick, stucco or concrete walls or buildings via a special plate welded to the end of the railing. Does this Spark an idea?


Instructions


1. Purchase wrought iron fence posts from your fence manufacturer with an iron plate welded on the bottom.


2. Determine the location of the posts for the fence, following the fence manufacturer's instructions and recommendations.


3. Set the post in position and mark the location on the concrete of the bolt holes in the welded-on bottom plate, using an indelible marker. Typically, there are four bolts that secure each fence post to the top of a concrete slab.


4. Drill three-eighth-inch starter holes at the marked locations, using a concrete drill bit.


5. Pound the outer fastener of the concrete wedge anchor into the drilled holes, using a regular hammer. Ensure the tops of the outer fasteners are flush or slightly below the grade of the concrete pad, so the fence posts sit level and flush on the concrete.


6. Position the bottom plate of the fence post so its holes are lined up with the installed outer fasteners of the concrete wedge anchors.


7. Bolt the bottom plate securely to the concrete by driving the bolt portion of the concrete wedge anchor into the outer fasteners, through the holes in the bottom plate. Do not over-tighten the bolts, but ensure they are snug against the top of the bottom plate.

Tags: bottom plate, concrete wedge, fence manufacturer, fence posts, outer fasteners, anchor into