bblumka Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I am building an arch that will span a double sidewalk, so it will be 7ft from side to side. It will also have to be, at least at the top of the arch, around 7ft tall so ppl can walk under it. I am planning on using 1/2 emt conduit as a frame and sleeve it.Problem I am have or may have is:1) I'm hopin this will be sturdy enough for no tag lines as after I sleeve it it will be sorta heavy on the top and will have maybe 1ft rebar staking it. Yes/NO?2a) It will have to be made of more then one piece so will have to have coupling on it or "something" to hold the ends together. Any ideas as to the something.2b) With coupling/"something" I need to sleeve it. What will go over the coupling?Any have any expirence with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james campbell Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 bblumka wrote: I am building an arch that will span a double sidewalk, so it will be 7ft from side to side. It will also have to be, at least at the top of the arch, around 7ft tall so ppl can walk under it. I am planning on using 1/2 emt conduit as a frame and sleeve it.Problem I am have or may have is:1) I'm hopin this will be sturdy enough for no tag lines as after I sleeve it it will be sorta heavy on the top and will have maybe 1ft rebar staking it. Yes/NO?2a) It will have to be made of more then one piece so will have to have coupling on it or "something" to hold the ends together. Any ideas as to the something.2b) With coupling/"something" I need to sleeve it. What will go over the coupling?Any have any expirence with this?most folks use 3/4 schedule 40 pvc, not sure how many sections you would need to get one 7 foot tall. 1 foot of rebar won't be enough I used a four foot section drove into the ground 2 feet. I think you will guy wire also,you will be surprised at how heavy it gets with all the lights on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bblumka Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Well . . . I can't use 3/4" PVC without running into other display elements. It pretty much needs to be 7 foot high at the center and 7 foot wide. 3/4" PVC schd 40 just won't bend like that that is why I went with conduit.I am getting that impression from what I have read from that other post. Was just hoping to find out how to over come it before I ran into that problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torqumada286 Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Would cutting the 3/4 PVC into sections help you get a smaller arch?Torqumada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bblumka Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share Posted June 2, 2012 I need it that big to span the sidewalk and allow ppl to walk under it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torqumada286 Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Right, but instead of doing it all in one piece, cut it into sections and connect the sections together until you get the minimum/maximum size you want.Torqumada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trafficman Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 I use a 20 foot stick with 7 channels on it. 200 incan's on each channel and I mark the pvc for each channel. I dont have ever light sticking straight out. I run the lights between the tape about 3 times and one things this does if part or half of the lights go out because of a bulb it will still be covered but not as bright. Plus its faster putting the lights on it.. LOL @ Lazy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bblumka Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share Posted June 2, 2012 Torqumada, I don't understand what you are saying. It is prolly because am a noob and this will be my first year.Are you suggesting that I still use the conduit and sleeve it with the 3/4 in PVC but cut the PVC into sections? That is the whole idea behind the "sleeve" correct? So I don't think you mean this.What do you mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 bblumka wrote:Torqumada, I don't understand what you are saying. It is prolly because am a noob and this will be my first year.Are you suggesting that I still use the conduit and sleeve it with the 3/4 in PVC but cut the PVC into sections? That is the whole idea behind the "sleeve" correct? So I don't think you mean this.What do you mean?http://forums.lightorama.com/view_topic.php?id=29886&forum_id=79&highlight=arch+sleeve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torqumada286 Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 bblumka wrote:Torqumada, I don't understand what you are saying. It is prolly because am a noob and this will be my first year.Are you suggesting that I still use the conduit and sleeve it with the 3/4 in PVC but cut the PVC into sections? That is the whole idea behind the "sleeve" correct? So I don't think you mean this.What do you mean?I'm new too. Don't feel stupid of foolish for asking questions. If I understood your problem properly you were saying your arches would be too big, right? However, if you use sections of PVC instead of a single piece, you might be able to build your arches to the desired height and length you want.Torqumada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bblumka Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 Arches would be too big if I used just PVC. PVC won't bend at that radius plus have 4 feet on either side of arch that is not bent. If I section it I would need 3 sections. One for the radius and two for each leg of arch. But what would hold the radius? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james campbell Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 I think I understand better now, your saying that the arch is too big and the lengths are too long to have a bend in them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Maue Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 You might think about heating the PVC. When it's heated, it'll bend at a tighter radius. You'll probably want to experiment a little first, as it's also easy to kink when it's heated too much or when you try to bend it too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Just thinking outside the box... How about letting it be wider than 7 feet, but letting the ends go "behind" (or "through") the other display elements, without lights. You would use the ends as structural elements and end up with an "elevated" arch that is still 7 feet wide, 7 feet tall.If this idea causes the ends of the arch to go through other display elements, then you could those elements to stabilize it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bblumka Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 Well, I am going to have 9 arches. 8 mini arches, 4 on each side of the sidewalk running up to my house. One large arch connecting the two. So I would have 9 arches basically in a row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Doucet Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Are you talking about this kind of arch, this is a picture i found on internet, not mind, just wandering if it the kind of arch you are talking about. Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ Hvasta Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 (edited) What I would do to make large arches over sidewalk.. (I made my smaller arches this way)1) For the support arch (the one the sleeves slide onto), you say you want it 7' tall, to walk under..that should be two pieces, each abt 8'-10' long..1/2' - 3/4" should work..bend each the same radius (90deg) and tie them off to hold the radius..leave them until NovemberMake sleeves using 1 1/2" - 1 3/4" - 2" segments, depending on how big you want them.Untie them, the radius -should- hold as they've been arced for a couple months.solvent-weld a coupler to join them. You might have to slide a piece of rebar at the joint ot reinforce it..Once they are joined, drive a 4' rebar into the ground to hold the legs at the spacing you want.Slide the sleeves over the support arch.You will prob have to re-wrap the lights at the top to hide the coupler between the two support sections.Repeat as many times as you need arches. Edited July 2, 2012 by TJ Hvasta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box on Rails Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Instead of schedule 40, I would use 3/4" PEX tubing and you will have no problems with any bending. PEX tubing is a bendable PVC. I use it for my arches. For more strength on your large arch set up you could use schedule 40 on the legs and PEX on the radius portion. probably 5 foot legs and 8 to 10' Radius. I also got to thinking If you made 2 arches that crossed at the top it would help wih the stability because you would have for legs. If you don't have extra channels then you could mirror each channel on each arch. just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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