i need a solid steel garden arch

justwhat

i need a solid steel garden arch 

Anyone got any recommendations?
We did buy one of those cheap 14.99 kingfisher ones. just broke after a year. looking forsomething solid and sturdy. 

ArbitraryRandom

Do you have a budget in mind? (scale from slightly better quality than the one you bought all the way to something custom fabricated by a local blacksmith )

justwhat

would prefer to just pop online and order. job done lol get it here bolt together and stick it in the ground lol . just looking for something that wont rust or break easily.

budget 50-100+ ish pound

-taff

Just look for heavy duty garden arch. Might have to up your budget depending though because you'll definitely be at the top end of yours at a minimum...

twopenny

Got to say that you won't get a solid steel arch for £100
You're looking at £1,000 +

There are sturdy ones at £3-400 should last a decade or more that I've seen in the garden centre.
Have you considered wood though they are going to be around the same price.

Having said that this came up on a 5min search
https://www.gardenarch.org.uk/products/poppyforge-buckingham-arch

Dustyevsky

I suspect the OP knows they're looking for the equivalent of a Lexus on a Dacia budget. Solid and sturdy comes at a price. For me, that meant buying the four support poles from the best pressure treatment works in the country and making the other parts from ordinary, locally sourced outdoor rated timber. It cost around £100 in materials and far too much time. I'm a rotten carpenter, and I've never welded, so that was my option for something that will last 10+ years.

If I could weld, the materials for a good-sized arch would probably be in the same region as my wooden one, and there would be similar problems to overcome in the making of it, like getting the bends equal. I've made metal plants supports cheaply by bending steel rods, but no two are the same!

Given the above and the rule of a third materials, a third labour and a third profit, I'd not expect to find a good, solid arch at under £300.

Harrod do some nice ones but price-wise...Ouch! 

https://www.harrodhorticultural.com/metal-garden-arches-cid219.html

ArbitraryRandom

Unfortunately I agree it's an example of the Vimes' theory of economics.

For £15 I'd expect something to last maybe a year while I decide what I really want; for £50 maybe three or four years... for ~£100 I'd be annoyed but not particularly surprised if it was less than 10 - for £500+ I'd expect it to last until I'm being carried out in a box. 

Starting a little above your budget, but we had one of these in the house I grew up in. The quality might have changed in the last 20+ years! but I saw some pictures of the house a while back when it was up for sale again and the arch was still there looking goods as new: https://www.agriframes.co.uk/collections/garden-arches (and I think they have a 10 year guarantee at a quick glance)

Completely up to you - if you think this is your forever home and you're always going to want an arch in the garden or if you might move in a few years/want to use the garden space differently  

Only other things is if you do decide to go for wood and you want it to last then you really need 3 or 4 inch posts - not the flimsy cheap 2x2 you can buy cheap online. It basically needs to be built like a garden fence if you want it to last the same kind of time (10+ years). 

twopenny

Just to explain, my prediction for a hand made steel arch was £1000+ based on pre pandemic when I enquired about a 8' length of simple railing from the blacksmiths.
Granted despite being a village blacksmith they did make the gates for the Queen Mums birthday  . 
https://westcountryblacksmiths.co.uk

The work is just gorgeous and it would last a lifetime.

justwhat

i only require a small rose arch approx H 2.4m (7' 10'') X W 1.4m X 34cm. 

Eldi_Dos

justwhat said:

i only require a small rose arch approx H 2.4m (7' 10'') X W 1.4m X 34cm. 

Make your own out of some galvinised steel conduit, bends and couplers. Can be hammered into ground or a small hole dug  and secure conduit  with some concrete.