Pinetag's Plot - 43 acres in Virginia

Great looking ridge Pinetag!! What is the span on it? And are those 2x10's you used for the girders? Does it give as you drive across it? Is there anything you would have done differently if doing another with the same span and banks.
Thanks for sharing this.
 
Chainsaw said:
Great looking ridge Pinetag!! What is the span on it? And are those 2x10's you used for the girders? Does it give as you drive across it? Is there anything you would have done differently if doing another with the same span and banks.
Thanks for sharing this.
Click to expand...

Thanks chainsaw!
So the span is 21' feet (edge to edge) but it's only about 17' of suspended wood. I used 16' long 2x12's and I had to cut a couple of them in 5' lengths, then bolted them together in alternating fashion for the beams to span the full width. Does that make sense? Here is an in progress close up pic before I bolted everything together.
bridge seam closeup.jpg
I actually added an additional piece of 2x10 to sandwich around the seam.

The runners on top are 16' long 2x10's and then I had an additional 8 footer that i cut in half to get me most of the way across. It is very sturdy and does not budge when I drive the atv across. My hope is that it will support my dad's small Kubota tractor but we have not tested it yet. The beams are actually slightly narrower than the 4 wheeler tread width because his tractor is slightly narrower. I wanted the beams to be directly under the tractor tires even if that meant the 4 wheeler would slightly hang over the edges. You can kind of see it here when i test drove onto it for the first time. The center of the tire track is riding right on the outside edge of the beam.
bridge tire tread width.jpg

I would have done a few things different but mostly small, time saving stuff. Biggest change would probably be to lag bolt the joists in from the outside. Come to think of it, I can probably still do that!
 
I need to do something similar but my problem is the creek is deep and it gets out quite often. I’m afraid it would wash my bridge away with the first heavy rain.


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mattpatt said:
I need to do something similar but my problem is the creek is deep and it gets out quite often. I’m afraid it would wash my bridge away with the first heavy rain.
Click to expand...

I hear ya! It is a possibility for me as well so my plan is to drill a hole through the beam on both ends, feed some steel braided cable through it, then wrap it around a tree and attach with a steel chain link. My hope is that if the water gets high enough to lift the entire bridge, at least it wouldn't wash down stream. But it would take a lot of rain for this creek to get that high. Two weeks ago we had 2" of rain one day and then 2" about 2 days later and the creek was still 3'+ below the bottom of the bridge. I'm just trying to stay positive and hope for the best with mine. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the details Pinetag; they helped me to understand how you put it together. I'm certain it might be overkill but I think I'll copy your bridge but add a third 2x12 just in case one of them has or develops a weak spot. I too would like to be able to cross with the compact tractor at times. My span would be similar to yours, same length and fairly high so like yours there is minimum danger of washout. I'm considering adding posts halfway across that are setup to come out for winter when they would be vulnerable to ice movement.
 
Chainsaw said:
Thanks for the details Pinetag; they helped me to understand how you put it together. I'm certain it might be overkill but I think I'll copy your bridge but add a third 2x12 just in case one of them has or develops a weak spot. I too would like to be able to cross with the compact tractor at times. My span would be similar to yours, same length and fairly high so like yours there is minimum danger of washout. I'm considering adding posts halfway across that are setup to come out for winter when they would be vulnerable to ice movement.
Click to expand...
Sure thing. I thought about adding the posts in the middle too, for the extra support, but I was worried about a tree/large branch coming down stream and taking the whole thing out. Pros and cons to everything right? Good luck with your bridge and let us know how it turns out.

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pinetag said:
Sure thing. I thought about adding the posts in the middle too, for the extra support, but I was worried about a tree/large branch coming down stream and taking the whole thing out. Pros and cons to everything right? Good luck with your bridge and let us know how it turns out.

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Click to expand...
Good point on the washout potential from middle posts; hadn't thought of that.
 
I put some guard rails on the bridge this morning as well hooked one side of it to a tree with some steel braided cable.
8c5fa6c5bb507eee1268025e55fa0242.jpg


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I also put out some weed fabric and aluminum screening around some chestnuts/Alleghany chinquapins. I will be clearing this area out during the summer for some better sunlight as well as a micro food plot in the fall.
Sorry for the hazy pic. It was very humid and I was facing the sun.
f393e2d2be51889292dacdf73f9e2d30.jpg


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pinetag...An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure certainly applies to your creek bridge. Looks like that will be there for a long, long time. Thx for sharing!
 
Triple C said:
pinetag...An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure certainly applies to your creek bridge. Looks like that will be there for a long, long time. Thx for sharing!
Click to expand...
Thanks TC! I hope you're right.

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Very nice looking ground you have there Pine! I love the "cottage" you have. That will be a nice place to stay dry. How far from home are ya?

Keep up that hard work... Thanks for sharing.
 
jvanhees said:
Very nice looking ground you have there Pine! I love the "cottage" you have. That will be a nice place to stay dry. How far from home are ya?

Keep up that hard work... Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

Thanks JV!

It takes about 37 minutes (35 on a good day) to get out there. So it's close enough that I can get a couple hours worth of work in from time to time, but still far enough that I won't be gone all the time and make the wife unhappy. LOL
 
pinetag said:
Thanks JV!

It takes about 37 minutes (35 on a good day) to get out there. So it's close enough that I can get a couple hours worth of work in from time to time, but still far enough that I won't be gone all the time and make the wife unhappy. LOL
Click to expand...

That's about perfect! Should also keep you from checking trail cams every day and keep it low impact. Can still get there for a morning hunt, etc. Mine is about an hour 15 away...so the same advantages with a little further drive.
 
Well fellas, you remember how I said it would take a lot of rain to get out of the banks. We certainly got it! About 6 - 7" in the last couple of days and there is flooding in places I've never seen flooding before. I guess if the bridge makes it through I should be good to go for another 20 years or so. I would say that's a good 1.5 - 2 feet underwater and the bridge is about 50 yards straight out front of this pic.
a29536402567ff9aa7c2f0db6aca09a4.jpg


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Turtles are loving the moisture. This is on the old road bed headed down to the river.
244f3929470f9d80057d5e2061f67ecd.jpg


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