How do I pound in Rebar

bvarbel 3/19/2013, 4:38 pm

Ok I broke down and bought all the stuff for my trellis per the book's instructions. It wasn't that hard to do...and it wasn't expensive either. Now I'm having trouble driving rebar into the ground. My soil is very hard. I have the trellis all ready to go I just need to anchor it to something. Any ideas?

plantoid 3/19/2013, 4:45 pm

where you have made an impression in the soil add a pint of water and 1/2 hrs later re insert the bar give it another wellie with a decent sized 3 pound or s7 pund hammer .
If this works rive the bar around pull it out and re water the holes and do it again repeat till you get holes say 6 inches deep and water them twice more then drive in the bar to the desired depth .

If your into rock hard / compacted stone how about a 12 " long x 3/4 " SDS masonry bit and dry drill the holes to the required depth . If you don't have such an item perhaps hire a drill or borrow one if you can .

H_TX_2 3/19/2013, 4:49 pm

-You can just hammer it into the ground and a heavier hammer would work better.

-Drill a hole into the top of the side of your box and put the rebar into that hole

-Attach some two hole conduit straps to the outside of your box and slide the conduit into the strap

**camprn** 3/19/2013, 4:53 pm

BV, I had the same problem and eventually abandoned the rebar notion. I ended up using U posts to support my trellis. that decision made the whole business so much simpler!

How do I pound in Rebar U-Post

Tris 3/19/2013, 4:57 pm

We used a block of wood and a hammer. We hammered the first one straight in but it bent the tip so it wouldn't fit in the conduit, so we used the block as a buffer for the rest.

bvarbel 3/19/2013, 5:00 pm

I'm going to try the water trick...though the ground is like concrete. I've tried drilling 6" holes with a big bit and it only goes down a few inches.

I'm going to try those other attachments if this doesn't work.

**camprn** 3/19/2013, 5:04 pm

Remember BV this is supposed to be fun. Another reason I went with the U posts was I move things around every year and the posts make that easier for me to do. Good Luck.

H_TX_2 3/19/2013, 5:06 pm

No way those u posts are going into the ground easier than a piece of rebar.

The rebar can be difficult to remove but if you get a good grip with a big pair of pliers you can twist it and start working it out. The u post on the other hand is back braking labor involving lots digging, wiggling and cursing to remove one of those once they are in the ground.

Personally I would avoid the u post. I will say that I have a lot of clay under my topsoil and results may vary if you have different soil than I do.

camprn if you move yours around then we definitely have very different soils. Once this gumbo clay gets a hold of something it does not want to let go of it.

cj32769 3/19/2013, 5:07 pm

There is an attachment you glue onto pvc pipe to tunnel under walkways and driveways to install wiring and sprinklers not very expensive you could use garden hose to put a hole in the ground. You could take a piece of threaded pipe and put a pipe cap on one end and use it as a slide hammer like the ones the use for T-bar fencing.The T-bar tool has two handles and sometimes some additional weight like the ones they use to install street signs.

**camprn** 3/19/2013, 5:10 pm

H_TX_2 wrote:No way those u posts are going into the ground easier than a piece of rebar.

Excuse me???? Shocked

I know for a fact that in my situation is was much easier because I have rocky substrate and ledge. In fact a few years ago it was a blessing that I had used the posts because I was able to lay down my 8' and 10' fully involved trellises during a hurricane and the next day I put them back up with no wind damage to my plants.

H_TX_2 wrote:Personally I would avoid the u post. I will say that I have a lot of clay under my topsoil and results may vary if you have different soil than I do.

Personally, I have found it a perfect alternative. I pound them in no problem with a regular hammer.

The over head trellis system in the foreground is simply clamped onto the bed.
How do I pound in Rebar 00210

Gunny 3/19/2013, 6:02 pm

To install a ground rod when we first moved down here, I had to use a water drill made from a length of pvc and attach it to a hose. The water removes the clay as you push and raise the pvc. Takes awhile but works. I have very, very hard clay when its dry, but get it wet and it will pull irrigation boots right off your feet. Had that happen once down here during a gully washer. Learned to go slow when moving through the stuff.

bvarbel 3/19/2013, 6:15 pm

The "add water and drive" trick worked over a couple hours. I didn't get it as far as I'd like, but it is in there. I just zip tied the netting to the frame. The whole thing looks neat. I'm excited.

If I end up having to redo it, I'm going to try that water drill...even with a little water, I was making some progress. It seems to be the only way to make headway in this concrete soil.

Also, because of this soil, I really appreciate that the garden is raised/above ground. Very clever.

Farmer Don 3/19/2013, 10:35 pm

Congrats bv! I knew you could do it. Great job. cheers

Pepper 3/20/2013, 6:00 am

I have about a 1 foot section of rail road track. Because of its weight it does nor flair the ends of rebar nor the ground rods I to use in my sandy/clay soil.

Pollinator 3/20/2013, 11:18 am

Keep in mind, if you drive rebar with a hammer,that you can have chips that fly off, so wear eye protection. I drive rebar with a heavy rubber hammer, but I don't have real hard soil - and no rocks.

There's a simple tool that makes driving rebar simpler and safer. Get a short length of galvanized pipe, with an inner diameter just big enough to freely move. It can't be any longer than the amount of rebar that will end up above ground. Put an end cap on on the pipe.

Then put the pipe over the end of the rebar, raise and drop it so the end cap will do the driving. Now it's enclosed, so you can't have flying chips, and you can't miss and hit your hand either. And you can start high without standing on an unsteady stepladder.

Sponsored content

How do I pound in Rebar

How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Thank you

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar

Re: How do I pound in Rebar


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.