Fence Posts - need advice where to buy

[heitjer]

Greetings -
this spring we will be doing some serious fencing. I need about 3000 ft of horse fence to get all my pastures done. The front of the property has the nice vinyl fence but I am not doing this in the back.

I am looking for suggestions that are more cost effective.

I am thinking about the standard treated fence posts and then run the slick wire on two lines (middle & bottom). At the top I am thinking about the RAMM FLEX. This will give the horses the visual aid to identify the fence.

Right now my concern are the fence posts. 375 posts at $3.50 a post at the local Lowes/Home Depot is killing me already.

Any suggestion where I can get this cheaper in the Greater Houston Area?

 

[handirifle]

I'd like to know what kind of post you're getting for $3.50? I can't get anything that cheap. Heck, I pay $6 for a treated 2"x4"x8', much less a fence post. Even 4" peeler cores cost more than $3.50.

 

[heitjer]

This is what I was looking at:

Lowes

Home Depot

I heard from a friend that these can be bought for $1 a piece sometimes.

 

[bcp]

I've used those for landscaping but not for posts. They didn't last much better than untreated wood in this climate. Much shorter life than any treated 4x4 I've used. I wouldn't use them where any long term strength was needed.

I've started seeing multiple strand high tensile wire fences. They claim posts can be about 50 feet apart. Might look into that.

Bruce

 

[forgeblast]

I use them for fence posts, you can get them for 1.97 if you wait. I have some in the ground 8 years with no problems. I just back fill with gravel around the post.

 

[MMagis]

Two things:
One, as mentioned those aren’t fence posts. Unless you plan to re-do the fence in the near future, don’t use them.
Two, you don’t need posts every 10’. You can at least double that, and if you use stays between posts you could triple it.

 

[MarkV]

Landscape timbers would not last in our soil. They hardy last 5 or 6 years in contact with the top of the ground around flower beds. Of course things may be different in Texas. You might want to check the treatment rating on the landscape timbers compared to a PT 4x4 as an example. You sure would not want to go through all that work to find them rotting in a few years.

MarkV

 

[MF1652]

Check out the Kencove fence supply website.

Electric Fence, High Tensile Fencing Supplies

They have links to lots of video's on building electric fence and uses of various types of fence posts. You can learn a lot from their catalogs. I would be leary about using landscape timbers as fence posts. Plus Kencove has much cheaper posts available which can be found at many local suppliers if you don't want to mail order them.

 

[ralphy6177]

Find someone in your area that sells cedar posts. Those landscape timbers will not last long. Cedar will last longer than any treated posts in our climate.

 

[Verticaltrx]

Do not use landscape timbers.


It sounds like you are wanting what is called high-tensile fence. Two or three wires would be enough for horses if they were good and hot. With high tensile fencing you put the line posts about every 20-30' apart (more or less depending on terrain and type of fence) and build good solid brace assemblies at each end. The wires are then stretched very tight using in-line tensioners.

For the line posts you need 4" round posts about 7' long (about 30-36" in ground) and for the brace/corner posts you'll need 6" posts 8' long (42-48" in ground). Around here the 4" posts are about $6 each if bought in a bundle of 60. The 6" brace posts are about $9-10 each in a bundle of 45. Prices are higher if you buy less than a bundle.