Installing free standing bamboo posts in or above the ground
I have been working with bamboo for around 20 years. I've built numerous structures for Quindembo Bamboo Nursery on the Big Island of Hawaii. Their nursery used to be located in a drier part of the island but now they have moved north where it rains more often.
Before when I set posts I coated them with a waterproof substance such as Henry's roofing tar and set them in the ground. This technique has proven to be effective lasting 20 years and counting but now that the nursery is in a rainy climate, the ground is soft soil and perpetually moist and I'm dubious about setting bamboo in this, even with a waterproof membrane.
I just finished building a cool little outdoor bathroom where i used polycarbonate roofing as wall panels sandwiched in between bamboo halves and capped with bamboo. This worked out well but it was on a deck. I fastened the bamboo to the deck by making wooden inserts and screwing them to the deck first then placing the posts on top.
This next project I have is a couple of small fences and I'm hoping to make it more affordable. People think that bamboo is going to be cheap but it's actually quite labor intensive with everything being custom fitted as well as the harvesting, trimming and finishing. Anyway, I was thinking of driving steel fence stakes into the ground and filling the culms with mortar mix and acrylic additive and setting them over the steel stakes so that the bamboo is off the ground six inches or so.
Do you have any ideas about setting free standing posts in or above the ground that's quick and easy? Are you laughing?
⭐ Best Answer:
You can try used plastic bottles instead. Make sure to leave them at least 3 to 4 inches above the ground. Place some mortar inside the bottle so that it will hold the pole upright. Cut the top of the pole as close as possible to the node so it cannot collect rain water (or it may rot). If you like to do some additional work, try to burn/stain the outside of the poles with a butane torch, it won't change the structural properties.
