Fence Posts

[Twanger]

I have a 12" auger on my phd. I am setting 6-8" x 8ft posts for fence and trellis. What is the best way to put post in the ground? Do I dig the 12-18" holes center pinta treated posts and tamp the dirt in around it? Do I use concrete? Should I use a post driver (which I don't have available)? If I can get almost 4ft of post in the ground will it be solid with just tamping?

[dliston]

I think you might get along ok with just tamping on the line posts, but I would set the corner posts and gate posts in cement.

Doug

[KennyV]

Hello Twanger...
Fence posts, My favorite thing. (Ha)…
I was just talking about fence posts with my brother the other day. He and I put in a lot of hedge posts around 10 acres over 40 years ago. No steel, all hedge. Those posts are still looking great, the fence wire itself has been replaced.

If you put your corner or gate posts in 3 to 4 foot and brace them, your line posts in 2 to3foot, you should not need any cement. Just tamp them in very good.

I see you are in the KC vicinity… If you go south through the Flint Hills you will see miles of fence line… I’d bet those posts have been there for many decades with no cement. It is a little more work to tamp them in but you will end up with a tight set post. KennyV.

[cowboydoc]

Go 3' minimum on your line posts and tamp them in really good. Go 4' minimum on your corner and brace posts. Every post I ever put in concrete usually rotted off after 5 years or so. Just make sure you tamp them really good all the way up.

[rambler]

Where I live wood posts & concrete = rotted posts in a few years. I understand in other locations it works well..... I'm in clay & cold & wet. Perhaps in dry & sandy & so on it is different.

I would dig & tamp, as others suggest.

--->Paul

[rlee6]

I am glad the original poster asked the questions that I always wanted to ask myself.

But I have one more question. I read an internet article that recommends pounding posts in. It says a drilled and tamped post can pulled out with a fraction of force required for driven-in posts.

So my question is this: would experienced TBN'ers drill and tamp corner posts? If the answer is mostly yes, I will do the same.

As far as I know, it is the highly alkaline pore water of concrete that chemically attacks wood. So using concrete in clay soil should be as damaging as in sandy soil. A very dry soil may be different. Still I wouldn't let wood contact concrete directly.

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( would experienced TBN'ers drill and tamp corner posts? )</font>

Yes, but only because I couldn't afford to buy a post driver and didn't know anyone who had one I could borrow. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] I'd much rather have them driven (or "pounded" if you prefer) in instead if I had a good way to do it.

[Gatorboy]

<font color="blue"> It says a drilled and tamped post can pulled out with a fraction of force required for driven-in posts. </font>

That may be true, but are you planing on pulling them out anytime soon? A driven post is put in skinny end down, but a drilled and tamped post should be placed in fat end down so that it is harder to pull out (if you are using round posts). If you are concerned with making them harder to pull out, you could always nail a piece of wood on the bottom of the post (larger than the post) to make an upside down T, so that when it is tamped in, pulling it out would be quite a task.


<font color="blue">So my question is this: would experienced TBN'ers drill and tamp corner posts?</font>

I put up two fences this year and tamped all the posts in. Of course for the corners, I made H-braces. The corners were put in 4' deep and my line posts were placed in 3'.

[cowboydoc]

I use 4x4's to put all of our fence in. Mostly because all I will do is drive posts. No way I would want to go back to drilling and tamping posts. Are they more solid? Yes they are certainly more solid. But I've drilled and tamped alot of fence that is still standing too. If you had a choice I believe driving posts would be the better answer.

[KennyV]

Richard…
Oh man do my aching hands agree with you [img]/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]… If you can get a driver, definitely drive them in. If you can’t locate a driver dig and tamp but I would pass on the cement. KennyV.