Dogsoldat Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Been thinking of a gate for my mothers yard. And have been rolling many ideas around. Had a thought on incorporating a few lilies into it but was wondering about ice and water damage. Or am I just over thinking things. I would expect water and snow to accumulate inside the flower during winter and the resulting ice to open up the lily. Aside from ensuring that the flower is thick enough so it lasts what are others experiences in this matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Yeah, freeze thaw will open it up, ice doesn't much care how thick it is within reason. It's been known to split fence posts, not first winter but given time.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Might consider somthing with a drooping character so the water runs of, dow . Shane tho thats a fantastic peice of work, might have to do screen/security door ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 (edited) Provided it is a smooth regular taper the ice will tend to push itself out. It freezes from the outside edges in and will push the central cone of water up.Design out the water traps…at the base of the funnel, have a notch in each edge. Or drill a hole on the underside if the split is on the side. One of the things that I have seen done on eighteenth century style water leaves is that after galvanising and painting, the gate and overthrow is set upright and clear resin is poured into all cavities until it over-flows. No water can get in then. That was intended to prevent water causing rot rather than worrying about the ice blow.It is one of the reasons that the Davies brothers' gates, that I have worked on, had waterleaves forged from flat bar so that they attached to the scroll with a straight forward branch weld. We replaced very few. Not like the sheet metal wrap around waterleaves on the gates of others which virtually all rot away at their bases after a few hundred years. If you do the same and forge the cone from one piece on the end of a bar and branch weld it to the stamen and then roll, it will serve to let the water out but if it gets blocked it will allow the wings to spring open under pressure and return without damage.Although I have not designed or made many figurative foliage panels in my own work, I have thought about it. One of the ideas was to make a gate frame with a removable panel which had the appropriate foliage for the season. I presume funnel shaped plants which trap water are for arid climates and seasons where having a reservoir to help getting through a dry patch is a good idea. The foliage of over wintering plants survive…just a thought.Alan Edited May 31, 2015 by Alan Evans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsoldat Posted May 31, 2015 Author Share Posted May 31, 2015 I can't take credit for the picture, first one I found googling. Just wanted to make sure we were all thinking of the same thing. I'm glad that I'm not the only one that thinks of these things. Almost falls into the category of the obvious trade secret... everyone in the trade knows how it is done so it is never really brought up or mentioned. I appreciate everyones input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.