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So, looking a fitting a big planter outside our house to both hide the neighbours DIY fence a bit with nice plants and give somewhere to lock our bicycles to if needed and guests etc.
Barking is a bit rough, so even at a filled weight of 75kg I was planning on fixing it down onto the flags with “thunderbolt” self tapping concrete screws to reduce chance of it being pinched.
Sanity check time though for the domestic electricity supply that is in that area. Front yard is ~200cm house to garden wall. Planter is 90cm long and 40 cm wide, going to position it centrally and one side against the fence. Should clear the radius of the supply bend comfortably and bolts I have are 100mm long giving approx 85mm of fixing depth through the flags.
Given cables should be buried at 45-60cm range, this seems reasonable to me? Or I could use 75mm bolts with a fixing depth of ~60mm 🤔
https://flic.kr/p/2nyh1mo
https://flic.kr/p/2nyh1oc
https://flic.kr/p/2nyh1ox
Was going to say I'd be worried about the slabs cracking, but reading up on the thunderbolt fixings they claim that it should be ok.
If you're not 100% on where the mains cable comes in I'd use shorter fixings. How thick are the slabs as anything over the thickness of those plus the base of the planter isn't going to offer you any additional mechanical fixing as it will just be going into the sand/aggregate below the slabs.
Just build a bigger planter and fill the whole area then !
Thanks for the suggestions!
Slabs are ~32mm thick so going for the shorter ones sounds sensible anyway to be honest
A larger planter to fill the area is a good suggestion, unfortunately the steel one is scheduled to arrive today so is too late…
Thunderbolting it to 32mm tiny slabs like that.....
If they are equipped to move the planter they will just take the slabs too...
Given cables should be buried at 45-60cm range...
Don't count on that!
(Is that the electricity supply in the white conduit on the right? Or is that a gas pipe?)
I reckon you stand a good chance of cracking those slabs if you try and bolt into them.
Thinking about it
... Metal planter thunderbolted through the mains incommer.....
I like this idea.....just make sure your hands are well insulated when locking up 😉
If someone is prepared to move that planter, they will be prepared to move or crack the slabs or just angle grind the metal IMO.
I personally would just go with biggest planter you can with some broken slabs in the bottom.
Looking at that planter, is the rail you lock it to hardend steel? If not I'd be more worried about somebody cutting the rail than taking the planter away.
How long you planning on leaving bike outside? If its only for short time, then It's a good idea to stop an opportunist theif walking past and pinching your bike. But for leaving bike out for long periods I would want something much more substantial to lock the bike to.
All good points about whether it is worth it and the risk/benefits.
Sounds like unless it’s on a huge concrete pad with studs sunk in then it won’t make a huge difference whether screwed down or not in terms of being pinched.
Plan was 1x25kg 20mm gravel bag at the bottom then fill with soil. Might put two bags of gravel instead to give more weight or think about making a concrete pad for it to go on with some framing.
@sbtouring - Only short term to prevent opportunists, the rail is solid hardened boron steel though.
https://www.frontyardcompany.co.uk/products/plantlock
We have two cats who love trying to escape out the front of the house, so wanted somewhere to lock our bikes temporarily whilst getting the cats sorted inside to make it a bit easier.
Also for my family to use whilst popping round for a coffee etc., no way would you leave a bike out front overnight! 😂
Spoke to my wife, she is happy to see how it goes without fixing it into the flags. Then look at a larger planter or something else if it does go walkies.
Ah, I've recently made a planter from spare timber - 1.2m by 0.6m and 0.6m high - it's not moving when filled with soil and plants.
Resin fixings like this? -
It will never pull out, grout in some some stud bar, just drill to 32mm, they'll have to take the planter and slabs with them
If that’s got 50kg of gravel, then filled with soil and plants. It’s not being picked up by an opportunist thief strolling past and carried away. And if someone can pick it up and wander away with it, they are massive, strong and very athletic and should probably join a circus.
Add a bike still chained to it and the thief deserves their reward if they can carry that as well.
Ok, so plantlock had arrived and it looks pretty good to be fair when it arrived.
Decided to lift a wobbly slab and re-do the grouting whilst I was at it, so they are sitting on an old painted concrete slab not sand and aggregate. Looking like a couple of M8 studs chemically fixed through the slabs and ~40mm into the slab on the back edge might be a goer really to stop someone tipping it over.