Wooden mega tree

[dropbear_luke]

Hi. I was thinking of making a mega tree for next year. However, I would like to ask a few questions and get a few hints from some people who have done them before.
So my yard is a corner block and I have a six foot fence around it (for privacy/security).

I was thinking of putting the tree in the corner section, but was wondering. Do I start the lights at the six foot high mark and go up from there. Or should I start them lower, as people come up to my gate and look into the yard at the inside lights too. And then, how much higher should I go?
Also, has anyone ever made the centre pole out of wood?

 

[lizardking]

firstly if you make the tree start at fence height you will need a very long pole as 2 m of it wont be seen plus the part you put into the ground
2nd wooden post would be extremely heavy to put into place if it was removable unless you used a bamboo pole about 18 ft long or longer
personally i would make the tree about 1 meter off the ground at the most so you can fill in under the tree and it will make people come to the gate to look at the rest of the tree

 

[AAH]

I would start the lights at either the 6 foot mark or a little higher. If you look at the videos in the video gallery by AussieXmas (! No longer available for example) and have a look at his display which includes a mega tree then you will see what can be done behind and on a fence of about 6ft high.
As Adam posted while I was typing I would be tempted to go with large diameter bamboo if you want to use "wood". Standard timber isn't especially strong for the 5m+ that you would need to clear the fence and get some height.

 

[dale82]

I have made my mega tree to be above the wooden fence. I made a wooden frame so they could be be seen above the fence.

 

[i13]

My non-pixel mega tree has a wooden centre pole. It's heavy but I have zero concerns about the stability and strength. It's dug deeply into the hard clay soil and wedged into place with other wood. Last year it was very difficult to remove even with someone else helping me. Pixels would make the structure heavier.

 

[dropbear_luke]

Thanks for the help everyone. I'm now thinking a 6m piece of 100mm pvc downpipe. The lights will be from the 6ft point and up. With nothing underneath. I'll use about 8 guy wires. Half at top. The other four at the 3m mark. Any suggestions on how to attach these to the pipe. I was thinking of screwing stuff/hooks to the pipe, but was wondering if that would ruin the structural integrity of the pipe. The circular base, I was thinking of using some conduit bent in a circle.

 

[lizardking]

Thanks for the help everyone. I'm now thinking a 6m piece of 100mm pvc downpipe. The lights will be from the 6ft point and up. With nothing underneath. I'll use about 8 guy wires. Half at top. The other four at the 3m mark. Any suggestions on how to attach these to the pipe. I was thinking of screwing stuff/hooks to the pipe, but was wondering if that would ruin the structural integrity of the pipe. The circular base, I was thinking of using some conduit bent in a circle.

look at my pics for the mega tree if you are using a 6m pole you could probably get away with a 12 ft diameter base and guess what comes in 12ft diameters made or steel and fully dismantlable , yup you guessed it kids trampolines have a look at his post http://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php/topic,7674.0.html
i put an add in gumtree looking for a free trampoline base (whatever size) to help with a kids project (well i am a big kid lol)

 

[aussiexmas]

Thanks for the help everyone. I'm now thinking a 6m piece of 100mm pvc downpipe. The lights will be from the 6ft point and up. With nothing underneath. I'll use about 8 guy wires. Half at top. The other four at the 3m mark. Any suggestions on how to attach these to the pipe. I was thinking of screwing stuff/hooks to the pipe, but was wondering if that would ruin the structural integrity of the pipe. The circular base, I was thinking of using some conduit bent in a circle.

Hi Luke
For my megatree I used 100mm pvc sewerage pipe about 8m long (6m + 2m) with lights starting about 2.2m up. I used 25mm pvc conduit in 6 sections to form the ring as shown in pics. My lights were 12 segments around the tree in 4 colours as a mega string (zip tied together). I had 5 guys at top, plus 5 about half height and again on the ring.


For erection, I put up the pole on a wood base, (no hole in ground) but located by a pvc flange. Then assembled the ring and used rope and zip ties to keep it in place (at another flange on the pole). I then used ropes through eyebolts at the top to pull up my light strings (2 segments at a time) before installing the guys at half height and on the ring. With my setup, these extra guys are essential.


There are lots of other little details that help, but this is the basics. If you are interested in more details, pm me for phone or to arrange a visit. (Note - I sold my setup at end 2014 when I finished my big display.)


Hope this helps - Geoff

 

[dropbear_luke]

Hey Geoff
Thanks for the advice. That'll be a great help. Can't wait until later in the year to start it trying to put it up.
Thanks for the invite, however I'm in Toowoomba. I'll have to see if I can pop in sometime when I'm in the Brisbane area.