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Finally got around to putting lattice around my deck last summer. Wherever I could, I buried it into the ground a few inches (hoping to keep varmints out) and also pounded some wooden stakes into the ground a few inches and screwed the lattice to it. Looked good.
Looked out my back window yesterday and noticed lattice is buckling. Ground and/or stakes must have heaved up from the snow and ice.
What have others done to keep this from happening in cold climates?
Thanks
roger901
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If you used pvc or plastic lattice it is expansion and contraction of the product.
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It is a man-made product...not sure if pvc or plastic.
roger901
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You have it fastened too tightly. When I did my lattice I used a 3/8" drill bit to drill the holes in the lattice. Then used a #8 sheet metal screw with a plastic washer in the center of the 3/8" hole. It was explained to me that you want the lattice to move.
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Anything that wants to get under there will. You're better off using half inch hardware cloth and then placing the lattice over it.
Matt
If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.
-Jack Handy
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roger901 said:
Finally got around to putting lattice around my deck last summer. Wherever I could, I buried it into the ground a few inches (hoping to keep varmints out) and also pounded some wooden stakes into the ground a few inches and screwed the lattice to it. Looked good.
Looked out my back window yesterday and noticed lattice is buckling. Ground and/or stakes must have heaved up from the snow and ice.
What have others done to keep this from happening in cold climates?
Thanks
roger901
The only way to keep heaving ground from affecting your lattice is to hold it off the ground or else pour a concrete frost wall around the perimeter where the lattice must contact the ground..
Another possible sollution is to replace the expansive water retaining soil with a free draining materail such as crushed rock. This is how railroads deal with not having a frost depth foundation. They build on a base that does not hold as much moisture which can freeze.
WoodNET... the new safespace
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Keep it off the ground. Frame it in.
