Mission Impossible: The Giraffe

[MONKEYMAN]

I have been asked to secure and rustproof a metal Giraffe arriving tomorrow. All I have is a picture of it and shipping company said weight was 300 lbs to 450 lbs. A crew will need to put in place. My job is keeping it upright and spraying it with a clear spray to prevent rust. So here is the Giraffe and supplies I bought. I also have heavier rope and guying material in stock. It is going in a part of yard that is mostly level but renovated in recent years. Ground may be soft. Not sure if I should put pavers under feet due to logistics of lifting that much weight. I am thinking sinking in the ground a little may provide some stability. Maybe make some concrete shoes for more stability if that happens? The tent stacks with rope and guying wire could keep it upright until I get the feet secure. I was thinking the auger type stakes connected the the metal cable wrapped around feet or ankles. I would prefer not have cables you could trip over.

Ideas and recommendations welcome!

 

[maxdustington]

I think you need some footings for that. Ideally you would have each set of legs fastened to a steel plate and then secured with threaded studs embedded into the concrete. If you had two ten inch diameter footings four feet deep that would probably do it. We have to have four foot deep footings in Ontario because of the cold, IDK what the codes are where you are.

It's probably going to sink over time due to weight, and those bricks aren't going to do a thing. I was under the impression pavers were those 24 inch square concrete tiles that are used for backyard patios or walkways? Those would be much better and you could secure the feet with tapcons.

I wouldn't want some kid to climb it and then crush some other kid with it, which is a possibility in my mind.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

They kid issue is one I did not think of since there are no kids here and this will be inside a locked fence. Neighbor has 3 young kids so it is a possibility when fence is unlocked. I helped out when front yard needed new electrical line to lamp by street. I hand dug the trench but did observe what the electrician did when pouring concrete for pole. He had bolts in concrete to secure the pole. So I get the concept, but is above what I can do. The owner may need to hire someone for that to get it done. Yeah, those are the 6 inch pavers. I was trying to get my auger spikes close to the feet. What I am doing may be a temporary solution. Maybe could dig footing with concrete and bolt later, then get a crew to move and help attach?

 

[MONKEYMAN]

maxdustington, I am liking the paver and tapcon idea. I think I can do that accept for the feet. When I blow up the picture feet look thick. That would take some serious drilling. This is when I miss my Dad who was a welder. He would weld those feet to a metal plate.

 

[maxdustington]

You could use straps to attach the feet to the pavers, we have stuff here called "all round" that would do the job but looks hack as [censored].

You could also drill the screws on an angle so they wedge the feet to the pavers. That might be a little difficult in concrete v wood, but it is the same concept. If you used washers, it would probably be feasible

Lots of options depending on skill.

 

[Boomer]

The kid issue is real. That thing would be termed an "attractive nuisance" by any attorney taking you and the owner to court after a child was injured. This makes it critical for you to ensure that the giraffe is TIGHTLY anchored to the ground so that it CANNOT fall over if a child climbs on it. Anything that will work loose over time is not suitable.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

"sinking into the ground a little to provide stability" …… would be a Sin.
Never do that.

Any job worth doing correctly is going to be more effort.
I like the idea of welding Plates to the feet and securing to a concrete footing.
More effort, but worth it.

Preventing rust …… will be impossible.
I'd do the best I could now and then just expect any rust that develops to add a rustic patina.

OP - Nice displays.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Most installation info online says to put on pad. Bolting it. Ideally a concrete footing. My situation is not ideal. So securing to the 12" x 12" paver may be best solution for now.

I get the kid issue. I grew up by the main highway for truckers before Interstate 55 was built. We had 3 trees in the front yard my brother and I loved to climb. They became off limits due to the danger being too close to highway. Did not keep us from trying.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

MasterSolenoid and everyone, all the feedback is helpful. I am a good the extra mile cover all the bases sort of person. But the owner of the statue said she talked to someone who used to sell them and said they just used tent stakes to secure them. Now she is thinking this will be simple and getting a welder out here to fab and weld plates will need her approval. That is the Mission Impossible part of this. I am dealing with someone who does not get certain things. This may be one of them. I will talk about the kids danger issue. At a minimum I can get the large size pavers, measure feet distance, and level pavers in ground. I have a hammer drill but not sure the tapcons are the best solution. They seem thin. I used lag bolts in past. Also read adding some epoxy to hole to make it more secure. At this point exploring all possible ideas.

 

[bcossa2001]

Contractor here - absolutely use the footings.
We use drill/epoxy anchor bolts on commercial projects. An example is Hilti "HIT HY-200". There are other manufacturers. You mentioned epoxy so sounds like you are familiar with them.
I would not use expansion anchors.
Pour the footing (I would throw some rebars in there), and then drill the holes, clean the dust out of the hole, shoot the epoxy in the holes, and insert the anchor bolt.
If you can do tapcons you can do epoxy bolts.
If the owner recognizes you need to use some type of guy wire system, maybe you can run a choker cable or chain up/through/around the body, paint to match, and bolt it to the anchor bolts.
You could probably get a large enough shackle to fit around the giraffe's ankles and then fasten that with chain to the anchor bolts.

I would think the kids would get cut pretty easily climbing on that sharp metal, but it looks like it would only take one on top of the head to turn the giraffe over forwards...

 

[Fitter30]

Feet look like there cast iron if there solid might be able to drill and tap then bolt a steel plate on them for mounting.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

I got approval to have welder to weld plates to feet. The next thing is how to secure the plates to ground?

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by bcossa2001
Contractor here - absolutely use the footings.
We use drill/epoxy anchor bolts on commercial projects. An example is Hilti "HIT HY-200". There are other manufacturers. You mentioned epoxy so sounds like you are familiar with them.
I would not use expansion anchors.
Pour the footing (I would throw some rebars in there), and then drill the holes, clean the dust out of the hole, shoot the epoxy in the holes, and insert the anchor bolt.
If you can do tapcons you can do epoxy bolts.
If the owner recognizes you need to use some type of guy wire system, maybe you can run a choker cable or chain up/through/around the body, paint to match, and bolt it to the anchor bolts.
You could probably get a large enough shackle to fit around the giraffe's ankles and then fasten that with chain to the anchor bolts.

I would think the kids would get cut pretty easily climbing on that sharp metal, but it looks like it would only take one on top of the head to turn the giraffe over forwards...
You don't need rebar in a sonotube footing, and why spend the coin on fancy epoxy when you can just place anchor studs in the wet concrete.

I like the chain idea though.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

This is a learn as I go project. So I am using info posted in this thread and found online. I am also getting info at Menards where I am buying supplies. I have bigger issues to address. Giraffe was finally delivered today. After removing fence 4 moving guys were hired to carry the 460 lbs crated Giraffe to back yard. About the same time I had a helper dig 3 footings. Two of the feet are close together doing 16" Sonotube for them and other ones 12". Hopefully, will pour cement tomorrow if my body holds out. My helper will be out of town. Getting close to 60 sucks. It used to be easier to do the heavy stuff.

This freaking Giraffe is a junkyard Giraffe!

NKG mane. Neck has connecting rod, radiator cap, etc. Kinda cool. What is not cool is the feet are very thin and one foot I could break off. Called the welder but not sure he will take the job. Legs seem to be plumbing pipe or exhaust pipe. Feet are thin rusty metal. Will need to attach braces to the pipe to bypass or to compensate for bad feet. Welder may be able to also attach plate and bracing.

Once footing is set and feet and ankle bracing in place will have the movers put it on footing and secure with anchors. Once again, thanks for all the ideas. Still have a long way to go.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

I think I found a solution. The legs are pipes that have room for another pipe inside. Outer diameter is 2". I am thinking I can put a 1 1/4" in there. They sell a screw on flange with holes. Would make attaching to footing easy. Here is a few samples of the flange:
Pipe Floor Flange