Outdoor Living & Lifestyles - Best way to anchor clothesline (Merged Threads)

Hello, we have a typical pulley style clothesline that we bought a 100 ft. clothesline rope and 2 pulleys. We now have a hook at one end screwed into the tree, and then the other to our deck which we have a thinner block of woods bolted to the deck with 2, 3" bolts and the wood is stripping and the bolts are just pulling out of the deck. It is really showing no sign of movement but we think anyday know it's just going to come shooting out of the deck, leaving me another project to do. Which I knew it was going to be have to be fixed but would hopefully like to do it before it rips out of the deck, etc. or whatever. We were thinking of buying a 10-12ft. steel or metal pole about 3" wide at most and a longer hook in which i forgot the name of it and have a nut screwing onto the other side tightening it to the pole. The hook would be drilled/ going through a smaller whole through the pole where the pulley can hook onto. Would this be ideal?

The pole would be buried under ground about 2 ft. with cement to keep it straight and sturdy.

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Clotheslines are great when they don't look trashy.


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Is there also some type of rope that doesn't sag as much as those big box store ones? Something under 10 bucks or less(cheap)?


i already have a clothesline spreader and a tightener and i prefer not to use
the spreader.



Thanks!

Vinyl clotheslines tend to work very well. The use of the pole sounds like a sturdy option. IMO, it is not a good thing to screw anything into a tree because of potential damage.

potential damage to what?

we have had a swingset bolted to the tree and it was fine.
swingset is gone but we still have our hammock.

As long as you do not live in an association it is fine.

I think I am going to do the metal pole next to the deck and other side
to the tree.

Thanks!!!

Imbedding objects into a tree will increase the potential for decay. Whether it is an eye screw, nails or staples it is never a good idea.

Check out The Urban Forestry Hall of Shame photos! http://fr.cfans.umn.edu/extension/urban_com/HallofShame.html

what would you do then?

anchor the other end of the clothesline to a sturdy thick metal pole?

thanks..i understand your pos. on this topic.

We always had two clothesline posts with three lines when I was a kid. Dad always made them out of treated lumber and used big eye bolts. Some of the neighbors had metal posts. Of course, these were in the days before clothes dryers. Winter laundry was always a chilly experience.

You would recommend vinyl clothesline? for less sagging?

Thanks for all your help.

Vinyl wrapped clothesline has a stretch resistant core, and it can be easily wiped clean. If you are using the pulley system, those kits usually come with a rope constructed of cotton and synthetic yarns because they tie easily, work well with the pulley, and are durable.

We have had a clothesline for a little while now and it was mounted from the
tree to the upper deck(two decks). We bolted a slarge wooden deck spindle/piece of wood and the first one split where the large bolt was and the second snapped right in half. Then tried a 1"-1 1/2" black metal pole that we
had from an old basketball set or something. I went to see how strong it was by me pulling/tugging on it a bit, and it snapped/bent right in half. Either I'm
extra strong(which I am definitely not) or the pole was to cheap in strength.

..So my question is, what would you use for a pole?
(And we are deciding to do this right now and most likely cementing it into
the ground.)

..The cement's not the hard part..since we cemented our in-ground flagpole
and that's still standing with the flag flying.

So i was thinking of like a chained link fence kind of pole.

maybe more towards 3" to even 4" in diamter at least.

What would anyone suggest? I really do not want a log type utility pole,
because I would not want a powerline pole in the yard let alone.


So how much would a metal post/pole cost? less than $15 or $20? etc...


How much would you dig for cement?

1 1/2-2ft in width? 2 ft in depth?

So if this product works out..it should...there would be the metal post at the deck end and the other already attached to the tree.


Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated thanks!

can someone tell me what would be

an ideal pole for a clothesline? Would

you get a 3"-4" wide metal fence pole

or some type of strong metal pole?

Remember, this is for a clothesline, so

it sure has got to hold and deal with a

lot of weight. It will need to be cemented

in the ground and will probably be 10-11ft.

out of the ground. I'm guessing a little

less than 2ft. will need to be cemented in

the ground. Here is the question, would

you get one 'whole' pole or a couple 'section'

poles? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

I definitely know it can be done, but sometimes

like other opinions, thoughts, critiques, etc.

Thanks a bunch!

I would go with 2 inch, or larger, galvanized steel pipe with at least three feet of it in the cement. Have you tried adding a heavier piece of hardwood to your deck (like an oak 4" X 4") for attaching the pulley to? Use very large washers on the back.
After 25 years of service I need to replace my Wife's steel clothes line poles which are becoming rusted. They are around six feet tall, three lines, no pulleys. Anyone ever try this with plastic pipe?

We went with a 2 1/2 or larger steel/strong metal pole.
(picked it up in the chain-linked fence section in Home Depot)

We did not cement it because it would have to be 12-13ft. tall pole or larger at that rate because our deck is very high off the ground. so we picked a 6ft. pole and mounted it some
way in which it is still holding on today! drilled a hole through it and has a j-hook type device to hook and keep the clothesline/pulley in place. Over all it works fine. thanks!