The Wind: How do I secure things easily?
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put 50 lb bags of sand inside? Or maybe cinder/concrete blocks? drill some holes in the bottom and drive 2 foot long sections of rebar into the ground, with a L-shaped hook bent at the top to hold it down?
if you secure your coffins against the wind, you may also have to reinforce them to withstand not being blown around in the wind as well.
if you secure your coffins against the wind, you may also have to reinforce them to withstand not being blown around in the wind as well.
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I use lots and lots of rebar to hold my decor and props down. Today was insanely windy...as will be the rest of October here.
For the coffin, if possible, I agree with Blarghity...L shaped rebar to pin them down and heavy items inside, if possible. If they are open coffins and you can't use heavy blocks or sand inside, then the rebar can be easily hidden under whats inside the coffin.
For the coffin, if possible, I agree with Blarghity...L shaped rebar to pin them down and heavy items inside, if possible. If they are open coffins and you can't use heavy blocks or sand inside, then the rebar can be easily hidden under whats inside the coffin.
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Ah, very true. I automatically thought wood...but I suppose they could be foam, as well. Could also be cardboard. Those would be a little harder to hold down...
(Although, I do use rebar for my foam gravestones...but that's a smaller area with pvc run up through them for stability. It would be a bit more work to do that with a full coffin, and may still just break from the wind at the secured points...)
Thanks for the suggestions. Yes they are large wood coffins, 2 are 5 foot tall. I would like to have one of them sitting straight up, but will that even be possible? I was thinking sand bags for sure. Here is a video of what they look like. you can even see them blowing down! its my 2nd year doing this so don't judge!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fr1VPaUXCA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fr1VPaUXCA
Well, making assumptions based on the one that fell over, your coffins appear to be rather on the shallow side, no more than maybe 6 or 8 inches deep. That might make it difficult to place weights in them. So I'll suggest this:
take a length of 1 inch diameter PVC pipe and attach pairs of them to the backs of the coffins, oriented vertically to the way you want them set up You want them to be two feet long if possible, otherwise as long as you can hide on the back of the coffin. Paint the pipe and pipe clamps to match the coffin. Next you'll need rebar of less than 1 inch diameter.
Then you'll take a sections of rebar as long as the PVC pipe plus 2 feet, and hammer them into the ground until the extra 2 feet have penetrate the ground. Use a hunk of 2x4 or 2x6 scrap at least 18 inches long and a rubber mallet to pound them in. You do this by placing the scrap wood on the end of the rebar and pounding on the wood. It will take longer but you'll refrain from damaging the end of the rebar (which would otherwise flare out and not fit into the pipe). This technique also provides the ability to use the pipes while attached to the coffin as guides to drive the rebar in perfect alignment for the pipes. By beating down on the scrap instead of the tip of the rebar, you can hammer away far enough away from the coffins that you won't damage them. This scrap and rubber mallet method is great for driving just about anything into the ground.
Another suggestion: Change your location to "Denver's NASA Wind Tunnel, Colorado."
take a length of 1 inch diameter PVC pipe and attach pairs of them to the backs of the coffins, oriented vertically to the way you want them set up You want them to be two feet long if possible, otherwise as long as you can hide on the back of the coffin. Paint the pipe and pipe clamps to match the coffin. Next you'll need rebar of less than 1 inch diameter.
Then you'll take a sections of rebar as long as the PVC pipe plus 2 feet, and hammer them into the ground until the extra 2 feet have penetrate the ground. Use a hunk of 2x4 or 2x6 scrap at least 18 inches long and a rubber mallet to pound them in. You do this by placing the scrap wood on the end of the rebar and pounding on the wood. It will take longer but you'll refrain from damaging the end of the rebar (which would otherwise flare out and not fit into the pipe). This technique also provides the ability to use the pipes while attached to the coffin as guides to drive the rebar in perfect alignment for the pipes. By beating down on the scrap instead of the tip of the rebar, you can hammer away far enough away from the coffins that you won't damage them. This scrap and rubber mallet method is great for driving just about anything into the ground.
Another suggestion: Change your location to "Denver's NASA Wind Tunnel, Colorado."
Thanks Blarighity for the detailed explanation. I was thinking of going that route and I believe you just confirmed that! It's funny that you suggest I change my location to "Denver NASA Wind Tunnel, Colorado" Because I live about 7 miles from The National Wind Technology Center. Let's just say I didn't mind the wind before moving here, and now I can't stand it! Especially when it rips my halloween decorations around!
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I don't know if you can change your name. Ask Larry, if anyone here has the power to do it it's the man who created the joint.
I feel your pain on the wind thing. I don't recall it being that windy during October when I was a kid but last year we had 15mph gusts or at least it felt like we did. We had to stake down EVERYTHING. I haven't gotten around to doing the bigger, heavier foam tombstones so mine are the store bought ones & last year I had to take the bigger ones down before they blew away. As it was the smaller ones were practically horizontal.
I feel your pain on the wind thing. I don't recall it being that windy during October when I was a kid but last year we had 15mph gusts or at least it felt like we did. We had to stake down EVERYTHING. I haven't gotten around to doing the bigger, heavier foam tombstones so mine are the store bought ones & last year I had to take the bigger ones down before they blew away. As it was the smaller ones were practically horizontal.
LOL. I totally see a Halloween crank call coming out of that, calling them on Halloween day to demand they turn off their infernal wind technology because it is wreaking havoc on all your outdoor props.
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