Has anyone used FRP rebar? Here’s an example:
Wondering if anyone has experience with it and if so, how you drove it into the ground. I like that it won’t rust. Probably will get some for general raised bed gardening where it is simple to push them into the soil. But, was looking for rebar to protect some trees.
@Eme … I have not tried that yet… but found something very similar on amazon last winter.
I bet it would work well for supporting lots of garden stuff, young fruit trees etc.
I have a rubber mallet that should work well for driving those in.
TNHunter
You don’t think it might fracture the glass fibers? That’s my fear with using force. (I have zero experience with fiberglass building materials.)
I have been using fiberglass rods (elextric fence support rods) for raspberry stakes for 3 years now.
None have fractured or shown much damage at all… they are very durable.
I would hope this fiberglas rebar would be as durable.
TNHunter
Great! Thank you.
I would not use it. The fiberglass tends to flake off.
If they are fiberglass rods you may want to make sure they are UV resistant.
They may be different from the fiberglass tree stakes I’ve used in the past and using now.
I use 5/8" to 3/4" to stake dwarf and semi dwarf trees. They are great but the must have a UV resistant gel coat. If they dont they will turn into splinter poles you wont want to handle.
We bought some flags to mark irrigation risers and such, and after 3 years everyone knew not to touch those poles without gloves. They had no gel coat.
Fiberglass rods work great, flex in the wind, last for years, don’t rust like conduit, rot like wood, but they need that gel coat.
Check if your local nursery supply company has them. I get mine from A M Leonard in Piqua Ohio and drive there 1.5 hours to pick them up as freight is a killer.
More good info, thank you. The wellco ones appear to just be a fiberglass/resin combination without coating and they do say the surface has burrs and only to handle with gloves. I did not consider that the surface might worsen. I don’t think I’m going to be able to get gel coated for a reasonable cost. I was planning on spraying rust oleum on the steel rebar I’m getting, I wonder how long that would work for the frp? I’m only getting 20 total, so coating with spray paint is easy.
I like t-posts myself and get the 8 footers from Tractor Supply for under $9 each - which is obviously more than you were looking at. I find them the most useful for trees that I might want to straighten up a bit and they last forever so are pretty economical when you consider how long you are using them.
But I also use some 7 and 8 foot green garden stakes from A M Leonard that are pretty reasonably priced if you get them on one of their free shipping sales. These are much tougher and longer lasting than the long green stakes from the big box stores. Although I usually get them from A M Leonard, I also see them at their more consumer based company Gardener’s Edge and it looks like it you give them your email you can get free shipping or there is a $10 off coupon. Knotty Takiron Steel Stakes, Green, 5/8in Diameter x 8ft Length, Bundle of 10 Stakes
For a beefier non-metal option, they also have these on sale right now, but no free shipping coupon that I see. Fiberglass and they say they have an 8 year life span, but apparently they are heavy enough or something else about them that they require freight shipping so not really viable if you just want a few. If anyone lives close enough to pickup, they also have a 10% promotion so it seems like a good deal for a pretty beefy fiberglass stake with UV protection.
For the inexpensive price of rebar why not buy the real thing? I’m asking just because that is how i think , not telling you what to do. Often times people have a very good reason to want something. Fiberglass certainly has advantages for some of what has been mentioned. I would just say ok i will buy the pile what do you want? It would likely be $150 -$200 though i dont know what is there.
I was just looking for an option that I didn’t have to rust oleum soray to keep from rusting. Seemed like an interesting, cheap approach for things I need to stake in my vegetable gardens. But, if the fiberglass isn’t coated then it’s moot. I’m buying the metal rebar.
Glad to hear I’m not the only one that will just go the easy route (Cheap) even though they don’t look very good. I have a lot of rebar sharpened for being bean poles that I got from my dad. They work really well, but don’t really look as good as a fiberglass
Also, these things make great hoops just bend it around telephone pole to whatever length you want great for covering small plants are entire rows of plants if you’ve got a tree, a little larger and it’s leaning, take some para cord tied to the top of the hoop
Paint genrally last a year or two.
Spray painting rebar is a pain.
What are you intending to do with the rebar, specifically? What are the lengths you intend to use?
The 7’ metal rebar I’m putting around some unfenced trees in my flower bed and wrapping with webbing or maybe fishing line to create deer deterrent near my street. Some landscapers here do this, and while at first I thought it ridiculous, it actually works. Relatively low deer pressure here. They walk through and nibble here and there (assuming I don’t have unprotected squash out bc they’ll eat those without leaving a trace).
My local TSC store has 1/2 inch x 6 ft rebar… for 22.00 each. Yikes… and I really want 8 ft.
It used to be much cheaper… I have bought it from them… probably 8 years ago… but now days is just too expensive.
No sources of used rebar around here that I know of.
It would be ideal if you could get it at a decent price.
TNHunter
CountyLine 3/8 in. x 4 ft. Fiberglass Rod Post at Tractor Supply Co https://share.google/Yy9OEVxvsPuJma3Pj
Cost 2.49 for 4 ft.
These are the 3/8 x 4 ft fiberglass rods I use… mostly for raspberry support… but also for supporting anything smaller.
They are sharpened on one end, easy to just push in… or tap in with a rubber mallet.
None have frayed or splintered in 3 years… i have 100 or so of them supporting raspberries.
I wish they had 6 and 8 ft ers.
TNHunter
I’ve been using these for over a year, but they’re thinner than 3/8: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ecostake-6-ft-Garden-Stakes-for-Climbing-Plants-Supports-Pole-Rust-Free-Plant-Sticks-Fence-Post-20-Pack-FS5166DG20/317935966
I also got the 3/8 x 8’ version when they had a pricing mistake, but I see they have a 3/8 x 6’ also: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ecostake-3-8-in-Dia-6-ft-Dark-Green-FRP-Plant-Supporting-Stakes-for-Climbing-Tomato-Cucumber-Strawberry-Bean-Tree-Pack-of-10-FS386DG10T/317942623?MERCH=REC-_-pip_alternatives-_-317935966-_-1-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a
I have used fiberglass fence posts up to 1/2 inch thick, and it’s not a good idea to drive them in with a regular hammer. But they do sell a plastic driver head which fits over the end of the post, and you can hit that with a hammer without damaging the post. I think you could make one just by drilling a hole the size of the post about a half inch deep into a small block of wood. Insert the top of the post into the hole and hammer on the wood block.
I have used it once for a small concrete pad I poured. Was not a fan. When I cut or bent it, the green outside sent slivers of fiberglass into my fingers. Very painful getting them out. Also not as rigid as iron rebar. If you get it ,wear heavy leather gloves. Me personally not for me.
I didn’t follow your link before my first reply. Now that I have I’m shocked by the price on the FRP rebar. Here is a link to the posts I use. Even with shipping they may be cheaper, way cheaper, than the rebar version. This is a good link for a lot of fencing materials. https://www.wellscroft.com/shop-products-accessories/self-insulating-posts/fiberglass-rods These also come in different links and have a point at one end. Can’t find the driver on their website, but they must still have them.
