Rebar/conduit

**Kelejan** 10/12/2011, 6:56 pm

Waaaah! Sometimes things don't go right.
Bought some 1/2" rebar a while ago and had it cut into pieces. At the same time I bought some 3/4" conduit, to make a hoop house.
Just been out and tried to put the conduit on the rebar that I had hammered into the ground now that we have had rain and the ground is softened, and found the it does not go over the rebar.
Back to the drawing board.

boffer 10/12/2011, 7:09 pm

Well...somthing's weird! My ½ inch rebar fits inside ½ inch PVC and EMT conduit; I just tried it.

Any chance one of your pieces is metric?

sherryeo 10/12/2011, 9:42 pm

My hubby and I recently added 3 new sfg beds. We used Mel's method of building a trellis with rebar and electrical conduit (both 1/2 inch). After hammering the rebar into the soil, we found that the tops of some of the rebar was flattened out a little from the hammering and the conduit wouldn't fit over it. We hammered the uneven rebar edges back a bit and it worked ok then.

But it seems strange if you got 3/4 conduit for it not to fit over 1/2 inch rebar. We did notice that the conduit was somewhat mixed up in the bins - any chance the conduit you got was just in the wrong bin and it's actually 1/2 inch?

genes 10/12/2011, 10:24 pm

sherryeo wrote: After hammering the rebar into the soil, we found that the tops of some of the rebar was flattened out a little from the hammering and the conduit wouldn't fit over it....

good idea but it should fit in to 3/4s

**Kelejan** 10/12/2011, 11:03 pm

I have now measured the condiut and as far as I can make out the 3/4" conduit outside diameter is `1 7/8" and the inside diameter is 1 5/8" meaning that the conduit is 1/4" thick, and the conduit has 3/4" printed all along the piping.

The rebar is definitely 1/2" but it has those ridges so that it is not smooth.

I must get it sorted quickly as our weather forecast is - 2c this Friday night.

boffer 10/13/2011, 12:31 am

Kelejan wrote:...outside diameter is `1 7/8" and the inside diameter is 1 5/8" meaning that the conduit is 1/4" thick, and the conduit has 3/4" printed all along the piping....

1 7/8" od is about the size of your wrist.

your od and id means that the conduit wall is 1/8" thick.

didn't you say recently that you got a camera?

**Kelejan** 10/13/2011, 10:28 am

boffer wrote:
Kelejan wrote:...outside diameter is `1 7/8" and the inside diameter is 1 5/8" meaning that the conduit is 1/4" thick, and the conduit has 3/4" printed all along the piping....
1 7/8" od is about the size of your wrist.

your od and id means that the conduit wall is 1/8" thick.

didn't you say recently that you got a camera?

I meant to type 7/8" and 3/4". I don't know what I was thinking of when I added that 1 in front. Embarassed

janezee 10/13/2011, 10:46 am

Hi, kelejan,
There's something not adding up here, even with the new measurements.
Are you saying that you can't get a 3/4" pipe to fit over a 1/2" bar if you're going at it straight on? or that you're not able to bend it and get it on the other side? Perhaps you could replant the rebar at a slight angle to make it easier to get it on?
Or am I missing the problem altogether?
On the other hand, I'm grateful to find out that the galvanized conduit I have for my trellises next year will fit over the rebar I had originally bought for my bird feeder. Much easier than pounding 10 foot tall pipe into rocky soil!

**Kelejan** 10/13/2011, 11:40 am

janezee, what I am saying is that I just cannot get the pipe over the rebar.

It is the inside of the pipe that is less than 3/4" according to my tape measure.

Perhaps it is the brand of pipe?

A bit like a 2x4 wood plank is not a finished measurement.

Maybe I should try a bit more force? Will do that later today now that it is not raining. If I cannot get that pipe on then I will have to try something else.

Lindacol 10/13/2011, 12:41 pm

Kelejan wrote:janezee, what I am saying is that I just cannot get the pipe over the rebar.

It is the inside of the pipe that is less than 3/4" according to my tape measure.

Perhaps it is the brand of pipe?

A bit like a 2x4 wood plank is not a finished measurement.

Maybe I should try a bit more force? Will do that later today now that it is not raining. If I cannot get that pipe on then I will have to try something else.

Just a thought, are you sure it is conduit that is used to run electric wire thru? Or could it be the heavier water pipe?

I haven't made those type of trellises but if I did I was going to buy the conduit & rebar at the same time and make sure that the rebar will go in the conduit before I buy.

staf74 10/13/2011, 12:49 pm

My video update I posted today shows how I slip my 3/4 inch plastic piping snugly over 1/2 inch rebar for my hoop house. It is a good tight fit and holds up in the wind. Without pics its tough to tell what the issue is. Can you post?

Glendale-gardener 10/13/2011, 12:55 pm

Did you have it cut down at the hardware store? If you did, they might have used the plumbing dept's pipe cutter to cut it instead of the correct way which is just to cut it with a hacksaw. When you use a hacksaw, you have rough edges but the inside of the pipe stays intact and the correct diameter. When they use a pipe cutter, it rolls the inside of the pipe in on itself, making the inner diameter actually smaller but just on the edge.

If this is what happened, you can try to take some needle nose pliers(closed) and jam them in there to "ream" the hole back to it's original size, or maybe a round metal file. But it would be easier to just prop the end of the conduit up on something and use a hacksaw to take an inch of the end. Then use the plier trick to remove the rough edges. voila- HTH

**Kelejan** 10/13/2011, 2:20 pm

I just bought a length of pipe and intend to cut it myself. It is the rebar that was cut and I think I need to file some of the ends to give it a start.

Thanks for your advice, G-G.

BackyardBirdGardner 10/13/2011, 2:54 pm

we found that the tops of some of the rebar was flattened out a little from the hammering and the conduit wouldn't fit over it.

I know it was discussed, but THIS!^

Another tip...why not take things back with your receipt and buy the next size? That would solve things, too.

Also, your rebar may be in the ground at a slight angle....causing your conduit to require LOTS of force to make it fit. (This was my issue in the spring.)

Cutting the conduit will also cause the burrs to affect the ease of sliding over the rebar.

Some fool in the store may have taken 1/2" conduit out and put it back in the 3/4" pile when he decided not to buy it. Did you try ALL your pieces?

There are just so many factors involved here. If you bought 3/4", it will work out eventually. You just need to find the mistake....like cutting or angle. It "should" fit fine.

**Kelejan** 10/13/2011, 5:10 pm

Lindacol wrote:[quote

Just a thought, are you sure it is conduit that is used to run electric wire thru? Or could it be the heavier water pipe?

I haven't made those type of trellises but if I did I was going to buy the conduit & rebar at the same time and make sure that the rebar will go in the conduit before I buy.

Now that's a thought. Must check that out. Never having seen conduit before, perhaps it is waterpipe.

**Kelejan** 10/13/2011, 11:52 pm

Kelejan wrote:
Lindacol wrote:[quote

Just a thought, are you sure it is conduit that is used to run electric wire thru? Or could it be the heavier water pipe?

I haven't made those type of trellises but if I did I was going to buy the conduit & rebar at the same time and make sure that the rebar will go in the conduit before I buy.

Now that's a thought. Must check that out. Never having seen conduit before, perhaps it is waterpipe.

Linda, I have had a closer look at the pipe and you must be right that it is water piping. I had only noticed 3/4" and failed to read the rest of it. It also has 100 psi (pounds per square inch) at 180F and 160 psi at 73F. Embarassed

Lindacol 10/14/2011, 1:00 am

Kelejan wrote:
Kelejan wrote:
Lindacol wrote:[quote

Just a thought, are you sure it is conduit that is used to run electric wire thru? Or could it be the heavier water pipe?

I haven't made those type of trellises but if I did I was going to buy the conduit & rebar at the same time and make sure that the rebar will go in the conduit before I buy.

Now that's a thought. Must check that out. Never having seen conduit before, perhaps it is waterpipe.

Linda, I have had a closer look at the pipe and you must be right that it is water piping. I had only noticed 3/4" and failed to read the rest of it. It also has 100 psi (pounds per square inch) at 180F and 160 psi at 73F.

That sounds like it is water pipe. Conduit is in the electrical section of the big box stores, not the plumbing section. Metal conduit is much thinner walled than water pipe but is lighter, cheaper yet strong enough for trellis making. The is also PVC conduit that is gray and sometimes used for hoop houses.

janezee 10/14/2011, 11:24 am

Ah, a brilliant solution. It's funny how so many can look at a problem and one sees the obvious answer. I hope it comes in time for your plants. For me, this is just another good reason to keep all my receipts in one place, so I can return my mistakes.

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