Yes, that would be an excellent way to stiffen the whole structure for minimal effort and cost. The pieces of steel rebar (or other kinds of steel rods) would not need to be above ground for the full height of the corner pieces. If those rods even reach one foot above the ground they will have a huge effect on stiffness. As important as anything else in this case, would to provide a very secure lashing along the full length of overlap of each steel rod with its corner piece.
Actually, having a steel rod at each corner and extending only 1.0 to 1.5 feet high, will do a BETTER job of stiffening the overall structure than is done by the method of reinforcement shown in that photo, as long as the full area of overlap between the steel rod and PVC pipe is tightly lashed. As it is set up in the photo, the steel rod has lateral force applied quite high off the ground (at just a single point of attachment to the PVC pipe), and the result of a lateral force applied at that height on the steel rod will be a lot of flex and wobble. There will also be a lot of leverage applied to the below-ground portion of the rod due to the height at which the lateral force is applied, AND due to how freely the above-ground portion of the rod can tilt, so the embedded portion will likely get loose. However, providing solid lashing along the lowest 1.0 to 1.5 feet of the rack corner pieces where the rod and pipe overlap (or higher if the rod is that tall) will eliminate most of the flex in the steel rod, and from there up, the stiffness of the PVC pipe will be pretty good. It will also virtually eliminate the tilting action of the steel rod that causes the prying action on the below-ground portion, so even the embedded part will be more stable and secure. It’s the very small zone of reinforcing at the joints that allows most of the flex in the first place, and eliminating that problem at the base of each leg of the rack will improve things enormously. Engineering is all about getting the maximum desired effect from the amount of material available or practical for use. The method shown in the photo does exactly the opposite of that, which is why I suggest this alternative method for attaching the rack to steel rods hammered into the ground.
Just a heads-up, though. Be aware of buried utilities! If you are in the deep south, water service lines might be as little as one foot below the ground surface, and gas service lines might be that shallow in any part of the country. The same warning goes for electric lines, and though those “should” be deeper than that, they may be shallow enough to be within the depth that you might drive steel rods. Communication lines such as phone or cable TV or equivalent can also be quite shallow. I think most states have a free utility-locating service. Here in Wisconsin they used to charge a fee when locating for private individuals on their own property, and though I don’t think that’s the case anymore, the fee, however much it might be, is NOTHING compared to the costs, or potentially the physical consequences, of striking a buried line when driving in a metal rod. Have your buried service lines located, even if you think you are working in a clear area.
For the boats you are planning on putting on them the rack should be just fine. I would suggest drilling ½" holes in the bottom of the corner uprights and driving lengths of ½" rebar two feet into the ground and long enough to reach the tops of the uprights for stability. As mentioned, be aware of any underground utilities.
If you do not want to glue the fittings, which would be the most secure, fasten the joints with at least #12 or better 1" stainless pan head tapping or sheet metal screws.
The rack would be best placed next to something which will block the wind, especially if covering the rack with a tarp of something similar.
Guideboatguy, do you really feel fooling around with steel reinforcing rod is more effective and cost effective then two or four 11/4” pipe straps attaching the rack to a structure, in this case a wooden fence line?
Mr. Stevens, I pose the same question to you as I did to Mr. Guideboatguy. Do you feel fooling around with steel reinforcing rod is as effective and cost effective as simply attaching the boat rack to a structure, in this case a wooden fence line, with two or four 11/4” pipe straps?
Thank you all the for most helpful advice. Got the rack today. Will bring it to its location in a couple days. Thinking of ideas to cover the kayaks… as suggested tarp not directly touching… perhaps secured to fence and then the other end poles in the ground? Taken down during periods of high Florida winds or hurricane season of course
It is good to hear you got it, it is a good deal, better even than I first thought, you can’t go wrong. You put four 1/4”” pipe straps on the two vertical pipes up against the fence, one right above the bottom cross piece Sanitary T and one right below the top crosspiece Sanitary T on both pipes, then go to the outside pipes away from the fence and try and shake the pipes. I would be surprised if you need anymore reinforcement if you properly glued all of the fittings. By fastening to the fence you have basically created a box truss, especially with the boats strapped to it.
Seriously, I think you can guess the answer, and a more sensible comment would be, “did you see the part about the fence?”
I checked in and what I saw was the post suggesting that the original owner’s method for using steel rods driven into the ground was a good idea. Then when I looked at the photo I realized that the original owner had used those steel rods in just about the worst possible way. So I described how to get a result that was many times more effective, using even less material.
I made the comment about engineering as a way of making the point that there was a far better way to use steel rod, but applying that same principle, fastening the rack to the side of a fence would be effective, and it would be simpler and would require even less material. Frankly, for fastening it to a fence I wouldn’t even get so fancy as to use pipe straps, but it would be a good method.
Mr. Guideboatguy, now everything makes sense, it was my mistake that I assumed you had already considered fastening the boat rack to the fence or another structure and felt using reinforcing rod was more effective and efficient, when you were not even talking about that. You were merely talking about howbto improve on the way the original owner used the reinforcing rods. I did not know this, I thought you were comparing the two methods. My mistake, my apologies. You know what happens when you assume things, that is what happened here.
My apologies, but there is no more effective, efficient way to fasten that rack to a wooden fence line then with metal pipe straps.
My only point about the pipe straps is that they are so enormously stronger than the PVC pipe itself, and probably much stronger than the fence too, that other methods would be sufficient. In my case, I wouldn’t go out and purchase straps when some other method would still be able to anchor the pipe to the fence more strongly than what the materials themselves dictate. I also have a shop full of innumerable materials with which to improvise connections, and a lifetime of such experience. Pipe straps are still a perfectly good method and I wasn’t disputing that part.
Mr. Guideboatguy, I appreciate your engineering sensibilities about receiving the maximum effect from materials available or practical for use, which you are stating here, but 1 1/4” metal pipe straps are by far the most effective method to secure those pipes by your own analysis and they cost 82 cents apiece.
Hey, the recommendation for pipe straps is fine! We have no argument on that point. And I would suggest that a person do that if they don’t have other materials at hand to work with.
But for you to take things farther and declare that pipe straps are “by far the most effective” is a something that you wouldn’t feel so strongly about if you saw any of the perfectly adequate methods that could be improvised without store-bought items, and that goes for the whole situation: effectiveness, cost, AND ease of installation. Don’t be sure that what you do not automatically envision must not exist. And I say that in all friendliness!
Pipe straps attached to another structure is the most cost effective method for securing the rack and one of the strongest methods.
However some people are very hesitant to drill or screw into houses, cars, boats, etc., although they will hire a professional who will do so with abandon.
It’s personal choice and sort of like that first scratch, no matter how slight, on a new boat or car.
That is all given due consideration, therefore, specifically show me any material on hand or hardware that is as readily available as 1 1/4” pipe straps, can do the job as efficiently and effectively, is as easy to install, is as neat in appearance and would cost 82 cents apiece.
Granted, in this case however, we are talking about a wooden fence line, there should be no apprehension and there was no talk of drilling into a car or boat. For the sake of doing something of this nature on the side of a house, I personally see no apprehension whatsoever, that is what houses are for, to do things for its owners. I would like to see society gain a little confidence and wing it a little bit more. If you mess it up you will learn more then if you did it right.
Regarding the metal of covering kayaks from Florida sun once secured to fence, would it be plausible idea to find some free or discarded corrugated tin online somewhere and make a top for the rack vs just using a tarp?
The neatest, cleanest way to protect the kayaks, is to drape a tarp from the top of the fence line over the rack and kayaks to the ground on the other side. That rack and being fastened to the fence line is made for that, it will look custom made. Corrugated material, while being more durable, will be hard to work with and will look like a home made job when you are finished and not be as wind resistant. The trick is to get the tarp that is the best value for the money. Contact @PaddleDog52, he is an expert on such things and can show you photographs of what he has done with tarps. It is so ideal because the rack will keep the tarp off of the boats giving plenty of breathing room.
Heh look, he is the guy and he is a down to earth guy. You might be able to do a search using his profile name and “tarps” and come up with posts he mentions them, I have not done it yet, if you don’t want to contact anybody, but he mentions in one post where he gets his tarps and he has purchased a bunch of them over the years. A cheap tarp is not worth the money and you dont want to over spend, you need a good tarp for the money, a good value, of good quality without paying for some name. But it is the way to go, if you get a quality tarp.
Edit: I would recommend you getting in touch with him and telling him exactly what you want to do and he can tell what you need in order to do it without over doing it, mill thickness, finish, brand and give you ideas on how to anchor it and close the end caos, what size you will need in order to close the end caps. He has all that information and experience.
In full sun exposure, how many years are you talking about? Whatever that time might be, the OP also plans to cover the rack and the boats with a tarp. So we are. talking a very long time for $30.