Constructing Driveway Light Columns

[@yasmeenaman6040]

You are a great worker God bless you ❤

[@hjc355]

Impressive attention to detail. Proper clean job, Well done from the UK!!

[@lucindamerrill1259]

Thank you for starting from the very beginning for us beginners. I appreciate it and the clear directions you gave.

[@wolfmanjackal1427]

Hey man. Thanks for the education. I'm a diy Jack of all Trades type of guy and in my 50+ years of life have never been any type of mason. But I've demolished plenty of it so I'm stepping up to an opportunity that has come. I didn't want to wing it so I searched on you tube and found you. Confident and sure that my work will be done right and look great thanks again to you and your content. Keep up the good work.

[@JoeMcCoskey]

Thank you, I enjoy learning and doing new things myself. KZbin is a great resource for learning and to see how others do things. I think it’s good to watch the same thing being done by different people to see the common traits of the project and the variations on how to achieve the end goal. I wish you the best on your project.

[@sarahgraham4407]

Job well done, thank you

[@rosenurse7687]

Beautiful! Great job!!!

[@gilbertllamas8987]

Came out nice.. going to do this on the weekend 👍🏽

[@TurkeyDart]

Nice man. Looks great

[@elmermt]

Very informative video. I'll be following your tips. I want to build 10 of those columns for the front of my new place,

[@danielbesingi7698]

Beautifully clean work well done, and thanks for sharing

[@kikilynn1167]

What an awesome job! Thanks for sharing.

[@johnorozco4671]

Hard time finding these corner pieces on that website. Can you provide more Info.

[@jobob_]

this was awesome dude, thanks

[@OUTDOORLIGHT-tb6oo]

Very beautiful, if you use the lamp with the same shape as the pillar, it should be more perfect

[@agoogleuser8583]

Thanks for sharing. Looks great.

[@terrydavis5850]

thnku, great video

[@MBailote]

good job, where did you get the blocks?

[@relikvija]

Sweet dude!

[@youresowitty8973]

Nice job man, looks good.

[@MyMike509]

Thanks Joe - nice looking column! Question - where did you get the cap with the hole for the column light (same place as blocks)? Going to give this a try myself!

[@TheAmairahTyagi]

no tampering or compacting required for the base?

[@JoeMcCoskey]

It’s a good idea to tamp the base. That step was skipped in this video.

[@mercyrosato8380]

Thanks for the video! How long did it take to complete the project? Can you paint the cap?

[@JoeMcCoskey]

I spent two days demolishing the old columns and two days building the new columns. It would probably be best to buy a cap in the desired color. They can add color to the concrete mix when making the caps. I’m not sure if they offered that option at the time or if I ordered what they had. If you use concrete paint (paint marketed to be used on concrete) then it is something that can be done. Thank You

[@javiervargas9151]

How much did you pay for the material? I’m very interested in doing two Pilar’s

[@JoeMcCoskey]

For the block and caps it was around 750, all in with the lights, electrical & adhesive probably a little over 1,000.

[@bobkat2601]

He said “ your column is as good as your base, which is the most important step”. However he did not tamp down the gravel or the sand before laying down the first coarse!

[@JoeMcCoskey]

True compacting the sand and gravel is important. I did walk around on it before setting the first course but didn’t include it in the video since using a tamper would have been better and looked more professional but they are nice and straight and I’m happy. Have a nice one.

[@marcoslopez1750]

Question so how do you add electricity/power to columns that are already built??????

[@JoeMcCoskey]

If it has a cavity in the middle, I would remove the cap to access it. Run some UF cable underground up to the side of the column, then use some PVC conduit to bring it out of the ground. I would drill a hole near the base from the outside to the center cavity. Keep the wire in the PVC conduit and run it into the center cavity. Once inside the column it doesn’t need to be in conduit. Cut a hole in the cap, run the wire through and reinstall the cap.

[@onlyhuman1296]

awesome!

[@chrismbugua1887]

Good job

[@IVespidI]

Excellent thank you

[@craiggood9364]

Nice work! Thank you for sharing details on the items used and great overall production!

[@brettvukovich6220]

Why wouldn't you establish a concrete footing? I would imagine the foundation will shift over time.

[@JoeMcCoskey]

A footing would be an added benefit, but this soil is already hard (clay & rock) and the posts I removed / replaced didn’t have a footing and they lasted over 30 years.

[@09ironman1]

Nice video

[@milguy4u]

Great job...Wish you were here to do mine...lol

[@gt-c-]

Why not cement the base in the hole ? Like this if you push it...not to say if hit mistakenly by a car...it will fall...

[@JoeMcCoskey]

Having a gravel and sand base is typical for landscape walls and columns. Starting the blocks under the ground level will add strength. I will say that poring a concrete base and laying on top of that is a great method. That is basically a footer. To really strengthen the block assembly, you would need hollow blocks that you can run rebar through and fill with concrete to tie the blocks together. Without that each joint is a week point. In all reality for what these are that would be overkill. Those methods are essential though for structures and tall walls. These aren’t too tall and won’t be easily pushed over. They most likely won’t hold up to a car, but neither will the car.

[@gt-c-]

@@JoeMcCoskey Agree. I was considering starting the first layer of blocks cemented 2" and then as I go up between blocks I would have put some cement or construction adhesive...so they stay together stronger...regardless how big the car is...you never know...! Great job !

[@kasamac9700]

Looks so good! Do you mind if I ask where did buy all the bricks. Look like they all came in one set including the top part?

[@JoeMcCoskey]

I bought them from a local dealer for Abbotsford Concrete Products. They are available in the western US and Canada. You can find a dealer on their website. If you’re on the eastern part of the US, you may be able to find something similar from another manufacturer. The top part was sold by the dealer but isn’t made by Abbotsford. These blocks can be used to make many configurations of walls and columns based on your design and are typically sold by the block.

[@lorrainesalazar3198]

@@JoeMcCoskey Love what you did here and we're hoping to do the same for our condos. But I'm also having a hard time tracking down these bricks for Abbotsford Concrete Products. Can you provide links by any chance, please?

[@JoeMcCoskey]

@@lorrainesalazar3198 Thank You. I looked into it, and it looks like they now go by the name Belgard Canada now and it doesn’t look like they make this product line anymore. It also looks like this product was mainly produced for the northwest US and western Canada market.

[@troy4546]

@@JoeMcCoskey😊

[@prestongrance3129]

Did you cut each block? Or did it come like that. Looks nice man great job

[@JoeMcCoskey]

They came like that.

[@arunduttpal]

thanks'

[@rohitnaval5589]

In the northeast, how deep do I need to go?

[@JoeMcCoskey]

I would generally use the guideline of 1” deep for every 8”-12” of height. The base for these columns isn’t very deep but they are on a clay / rock soil, and I don’t have to worry about movement. If these were support columns, they would need to be much deeper.

[@rohitnaval5589]

Thanks for your video, I’ll definitely copy your method, it seems much easier than others I’ve seen. What is the final measurements of these pillars? 24” wide?

[@JoeMcCoskey]

@@rohitnaval5589 the columns are 18” wide and the caps are 22”.

[@JoeMcCoskey]

@@rohitnaval5589 I also want to mention to keep the height to width ratio in mind, without a deep footing or reinforcement, columns like this need to be kept short. This one is 40”. It’s good to keep the height less than 3x the width and preferably closer to 2x the width.

[@rohitnaval5589]

I’d like to go wider if possible and shorter, 30” high. Will this stone allow for a wider installation?

[@richardortiz7854]

Hello, do you need a permit to build a column?

[@JoeMcCoskey]

If you have a question about that, it would be best to ask your local municipality.

[@richardortiz7854]

Thank you very much, I just did they said no problem. Can you tell me the name of those bricks, they look amazing?

[@JoeMcCoskey]

@@richardortiz7854 They are Abbotsford Concrete Products StackWall Corners, Sandlewood color.

[@richardortiz7854]

@@JoeMcCoskey Awesome! Thank you very much. Have a great and stay safe.

[@michellespittle9546]

Where do u get this blocks and what type of blocks . What do they call??

[@JoeMcCoskey]

They are Abbotsford Concrete Products StackWall Corners. I bought them from a local distributor.

[@michellespittle9546]

@@JoeMcCoskey Thank you!

[@1stgenerationamerican270]

Why do you make statements in the form of a question?

[@victorvek5227]

Time to invest in a shovel, hand tamper, & multi-tool. Holy frustrating.

[@JoeMcCoskey]

I have all those tools. I couldn’t use a shovel due to the soil being rock/clay. I had limited space for the hand tamper but I did step on the base, I just cut that part out. I should have used the multitool for cutting the conduit off the caps.

[@terryreyes1125]

He wetted it 🤣🤣🤣

[@mariospencer3036]

I can push that over with my little finger ,, it have no strength

[@JoeMcCoskey]

Cool story

[@petematragrano7807]

SOLAR UNITS SOLAR USE THE SUN NO ELECTRIC NEEDED I KNOW THAT ELECTRIC COSTED U OVER 500 TO RUN

[@JoeMcCoskey]

The electric run to the columns was already there. These columns replaced old brick columns that I removed due to age.

[@chrismbugua1887]

Good job