How to attach trellis to rendered letterbox?

Berry

I want to attach a wooden trellis to an end of this large letterbox frame. The frame is old crumbly render over what seems to be a metal frame underneath. The intention is to grow a plant over the old render.

I’m wondering how best to attach the trellis to it? 

JacobZ

Hi @Berry,

Thank you for your question about attaching a trellis to your letterbox.

This appears to be fibre cement sheeting. Which tells me there is a frame beneath that is likely made of timber.

The metal is not actually the frame of the letterbox, it is an external angle trim used to create sharp lines when rendering. It sits on top of the sheet material, which will be attached to the frame beneath.

My suggestion is to use a Kango 3mm x 90mm Masonry Drill Bit to drill through the fibre cement sheeting just inside the angle trim, about 30mm in from the outside edge of the letterbox. Once you pass through the fibre cement sheeting, you will be able to tell whether the framing beneath is timber or metal.

Depending on what the frame is made of, you can then simply screw the lattice to the subframe using timber screws or metal screws. The frame will run around the full perimeter of the letterbox, so as long as the screws go into the letterbox around it's edge, there should be material beneath.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob