For you fellows that use the ladder system to support your track what is a minimum spacing of pvc pipe in the ground for straight a ways??
Depends on a few things…
If the ladder is directly on the ground (or back filled ) you don’t need a lot; every 3-4 feet should work.
If the ladder will be flying in the air they need to be closer. How close depends on the ladder material. Foamed PVC board strips will sag and needs close support - maybe every 18" or so. Hardwood could probably span 24" without issue.
Thanks Jon,
My ladder will be close to the ground and backfilled. So I’ll start with your suggestion of 3 - 4 feet.
Richard
Richard,
my ladder is made from recycled plastic boards, before the PVC readily became available. i spaced 2" PVC pipes on 24" centers. it has held up well and gets a spring tamping after the frost is done.
Al P.
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This will be an early spring ritual. As soon as the ground thaws to the depth of your ladder, but before the rains silt in the gap, you need to push the ladder back into the ground. I’ve tried several materials for posts and it does not seem to matter - they all lift with frost.
LOL, here in Central California we don’t know what frost is. We get 4.65 hours of nice spring then it’s 115 until mid November. Good luck with the tamping.
Richard
What do you use to attach the pipes to the ladder? Do you put spaces every xxx inches and is that glued, screwed?
My ladder system consists of 1 5/8" x 12’ PVC strips and 1 5/8" square PVC for the spacers (same material and brand). The pipes in the ground are 1 1/4" PVC. I have a jig that I built for the spacers. Each spacer is approx 9" center to center from each other. I use deck screws to attach the strips to the spacers and then to attach to the pipes. I find that this becomes a solid structure as you go down the line so I don’t use any glue.