Suggestions for elevating spiral trees

[Speedster]

I have 8 spiral trees with flat triangular bases like the ones pictured here:

 

 

I arrange them in 2 groups of 4 trees in a straight line side by side.  Since we always get snow in Dec, I always have to clear snow from around the bases several times.

To avoid the trees getting buried and having to clear away the snow, I thought about elevating each group of trees by about 6 - 8  inches by securing 2 long 2 x 2's on cinder blocks, then securing the tree bases to the 2 x 2's (2 of the feet would get secured to one of the 2 x 2's, and the 3rd foot of the base would get secured to the other 2 x 2).   

Has anyone ever done something like this?  Any other suggestions?

[Mr. P]

Maybe some legs made from 1/2" pvc pipe that you can stick in the ground?

[Mega Arch]

drive 3ft x 1/4" rebar into the ground about 8". ziptie the middle rod of the tree to the rebar left sticking outta the ground. bamm. done.

[Mr. P]

13 minutes ago, Mega Arch said:

drive 3ft x 1/4" rebar into the ground about 8". ziptie the middle rod of the tree to the rebar left sticking outta the ground. bamm. done.

Or just get a rebar that will slide up inside the trees center pole, wrap some tape around the rebar at a specified height to use as a stop and slide the tree down over the rebar.

[Speedster]

Thanks guys, I also thought about using rebar, but the problem is that anything I pound into the ground in November can't be pulled out until April because the ground is too frozen.  I could remove the trees from the rebar after Christmas, but the rebar sticking out of the ground could be dangerous if someone doesn't see it and trips, possibly impaling themself. Or I could leave the trees attached until the ground softens, but I'd rather not leave Christmas decor out on the lawn until April lol.

For one group of 4 trees I may end up doing the rebar method anyway on the part of our lawn where nobody should be walking.  Then for the 2nd group of 4 trees I'll use the method I described, which makes it easy to tear down in January w/o worrying about anything left sticking out of the ground.

[dibblejr]

Just now, Speedster said:

Thanks guys, I also thought about using rebar, but the problem is that anything I pound into the ground in November can't be pulled out until April because the ground is too frozen.  I could remove the trees from the rebar after Christmas, but the rebar sticking out of the ground could be dangerous if someone doesn't see it and trips, possibly impaling themself. Or I could leave the trees attached until the ground softens, but I'd rather not leave Christmas decor out on the lawn until April lol.

For one group of 4 trees I may end up doing the rebar method anyway on the part of our lawn where nobody should be walking.  Then for the 2nd group of 4 trees I'll use the method I described, which makes it easy to tear down in January w/o worrying about anything left sticking out of the ground.

You could use the rebar. After you take the tree up place a 3" piece of pvc conduit painted red or orange or not painted. I have done that before with other stuff sticking out of the ground just make it 3-4'

JR

[Mr. P]

I have a slide hammer I use for pulling bearings and stuff when working the car, I slide the hammer over the rebar then clamp a pair of vice grips to the top of the rebar and slide away. Guarantee the rebar comes out.

[k6ccc]

7 minutes ago, Speedster said:

I could remove the trees from the rebar after Christmas, but the rebar sticking out of the ground could be dangerous if someone doesn't see it and trips, possibly impaling themself.

---====>>  IMPORTANT  <<====---

If you removed the prop and leave the rebar in the ground, IMMEDIATELY cover it with a proper rebar cap.  And when I say immediately, I mean something like - take the prop off with one hand and put the rebar cap on with the other.  Never leave exposed vertical rebar.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/PrimeSource-Osha-Steel-Reinforced-Rebar-Cap-CAPOSHAEAR/100323493

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-3-to-7-Plastic-Rebar-Safety-Cap/4067490

If you think I am over-reacting, I will tell you that I am alive today because a piece of rebar was capped when I landed on it.  Had it not been capped, I would have ended up with a piece of 1/2 inch rebar through the right ventricle of my heart.  Had it missed the right ventricle, it would have hit the decending aorta.  In either case, I would have bled out before the paramedics could get out the fire station door.

 

[dansamy]

20 minutes ago, k6ccc said:

---====>>  IMPORTANT  <<====---

If you removed the prop and leave the rebar in the ground, IMMEDIATELY cover it with a proper rebar cap.  And when I say immediately, I mean something like - take the prop off with one hand and put the rebar cap on with the other.  Never leave exposed vertical rebar.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/PrimeSource-Osha-Steel-Reinforced-Rebar-Cap-CAPOSHAEAR/100323493

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-3-to-7-Plastic-Rebar-Safety-Cap/4067490

If you think I am over-reacting, I will tell you that I am alive today because a piece of rebar was capped when I landed on it.  Had it not been capped, I would have ended up with a piece of 1/2 inch rebar through the right ventricle of my heart.  Had it missed the right ventricle, it would have hit the decending aorta.  In either case, I would have bled out before the paramedics could get out the fire station door.

 

Oh good lord, yes! You'd have been dead just as fast as Steve Irwin died from that stingray barb.

[Speedster]

43 minutes ago, dibblejr said:

You could use the rebar. After you take the tree up place a 3" piece of pvc conduit painted red or orange or not painted. I have done that before with other stuff sticking out of the ground just make it 3-4'

JR

That might not look too good in our situation because of where the 8 spiral trees are located in front of our house.  You can see them in one of my videos from last year.

26 minutes ago, Mr. P said:

I have a slide hammer I use for pulling bearings and stuff when working the car, I slide the hammer over the rebar then clamp a pair of vice grips to the top of the rebar and slide away. Guarantee the rebar comes out.

Would that pull rebar out of ground that is frozen solid?  I'm thinking I'd have to pour buckets of boiling water at the base of the rebar to soften the ground enough lol.

 

7 minutes ago, k6ccc said:

---====>>  IMPORTANT  <<====---

If you removed the prop and leave the rebar in the ground, IMMEDIATELY cover it with a proper rebar cap.  And when I say immediately, I mean something like - take the prop off with one hand and put the rebar cap on with the other.  Never leave exposed vertical rebar.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/PrimeSource-Osha-Steel-Reinforced-Rebar-Cap-CAPOSHAEAR/100323493

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-3-to-7-Plastic-Rebar-Safety-Cap/4067490

If you think I am over-reacting, I will tell you that I am alive today because a piece of rebar was capped when I landed on it.  Had it not been capped, I would have ended up with a piece of 1/2 inch rebar through the right ventricle of my heart.  Had it missed the right ventricle, it would have hit the decending aorta.  In either case, I would have bled out before the paramedics could get out the fire station door.

 

Glad you were OK after that nearly fatal mishap!  You're definitely not overreacting, as I believe that anything that CAN happen, WILL eventually happen, especially if we're talking about something accidental.  I always err on the safe side of caution, which is why I haven't used rebar for any props yet.  I'm a firm believer in "safety first", and the reason why I and my family are alive today is because we had multiple carbon monoxide detectors going off when we had a furnace problem at our previous home.   I'm paranoid because of that incident, so in our current home we have 9 carbon monoxide detectors and 13 smoke/fire detectors.  I actually told my family that we have so many of them because I'm worried that I might set the house on fire because of all the outdoor Christmas lights!

My wife and kids are very accident-prone, and I've been known to trip every now and then.  So those rebar caps might have swung me towards using the rebar method for my spiral trees.

[Little_b]

As an alternate to rebar or wooden stakes, I've started using 2 sizes of PVC pipe.  I have a bunch of candy canes that I made out of plywood that create a fence around my front yard.  I used to use wooden stakes and screw them to it, but half the stakes would break or not come out due to being frozen.  I found that 1" PVC pipe fits nicely into 1-1/4" so in the summer months I pounded some 1-1/4" x 18" pieces of PVC into the ground (flush) where I wanted the candy canes to go.  These stay year round.  Then I screwed a piece of 1" pipe to the candy canes and now I just slide them in place.  Sometimes I do have to remove a little grass  from the top, but nothing major.  If they fill up with dirt or other debris, a vacuum hose fits inside nicely as well.  I still use rebar for other props, (Arches), but I try not to drive them in too deep, just enough to hold things in place.

Edited November 9, 2018 by Little_b