DaVinci Bridge design

[Helvetica]

I have a 6.3m span I want to bridge, it’s a useful shortcut for me but mostly this is a fun project to make something interesting in our garden.

I used sketchup to draw a layout, but the position of the pieces is infinitely adjustable so I thought a quick & dirty ply model would help me gauge the correct distances, and so the angles etc. Here is my model:

The scale is around 1:8 so this layout leaves my span around 500mm short. It gets me to the ballpark though, so I can use sketchup to add rebates to hold everything in place, and see how that affects the span. Any tips?


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[MikeG.]

You'll have fun erecting that. I can foresee you needing a scaffold in the water.

 

[Tasky]

Is this going to be a decorative feature arch, or an actual load-bearing structure?

 

[Helvetica]

Load bearing. I want the family to be able to walk on it. You have doubts? I should explain this is just the skeleton, it will have sides, a floor and hand rails

 

[dzj]

A 6.3m span is not that small. Perhaps an arched or truss design might be a safer bet.
There is probably someone selling such plans on the internet.

 

[Stanleymonkey]

You have fun attaching handrails and all! How will you ensure the different beams can cope with all the different forces acting on them?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKdQV2q ... r_embedded

 

[pulleyt]

My understanding is that you can just add another section if you need to increase the span. Sounds like a fun project

 

[MusicMan]

If you look at
https://www.core77.com/posts/65043/Leon ... ing-Bridge

you'll see that the span is greater than the basic supporting framework that you have shown. The structure is used to support a walkway which has a wider span than the framework. This shows how to do the handrails, too. Essentially, the framework is supported at a lower level than the walkway.

Fascinating project, keep us informed!

 

[BigMonka]

What an exciting project, any chance of a photo of where you’re planning on putting this?

 

[John15]

The deck appears to have a dangerously steep gradient, or am I misunderstanding your model.

John

 

[MusicMan]

The walkway is supported by the frame, and has a much shallower gradient. See the link I sent, above.

 

[Tasky]

Load bearing. I want the family to be able to walk on it. You have doubts?

I did, until I followed Music's link and saw a lot more sense in images like this:

Something like that could be rather nice, especially if your 'garden' is big enough to warrant a 6-metre bridge as merely something fun and interesting!!
I'm not a fan of bridge posts that just stop, like that. It looks like there should be another piece sloping down to the ground, or something to blend it in instead of looking like it was just plonked down.

 

[Helvetica]

The German build that supports a car (with the mayor in it!) is incredible- even more so because it has no fixings whatsoever.

I found this image of a Japanese bridge which I am in love with. DaVinci base, curved side-profile to support walkway, steps near the ground, and a decorative handrail, easy!

Not.

It’s very steep but I like the sense of fun and style. A scaled-down version of this would be ideal!

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[John15]

The walkway is supported by the frame, and has a much shallower gradient. See the link I sent, above.

Thanks MusicMan - makes sense now!

John