The next few days are not going to be fun

[oosik]

The accuracy of the OP's GPS caught my attention also. Must be Trimble equipment. On a clear day, out in the open, my Garmin GPS is +/- ten feet, at best. However - that point being made - whatever works for you.

 

[bdog]

Yes we are using Trimble R10 RTK GPS.

 

[oosik]

That's pro grade survey equipment. We had a piece of Trimble equipment when I worked for Health Dept. Never could figure out why we had it. It was never used. I think somebody panicked - we had extra federal funds and were in danger of loosing them.

 

[Jstpssng]

Yes we are using Trimble R10 RTK GPS.

That's what is known as "the proper tool for the job." I was also wondering how you could locate them so accurately... I can sit on a log eating lunch and my Garmin says that I've been walking in a 100 foot circle.

 

[oosik]

That's a very expensive piece of equipment - just to locate fence posts. I'm sure somebody had the equipment for other uses.

My property is a true rectangle. 80 acres - 1320 x 2640. Due to hill & gully terrain - never able to eyeball even the short sides. But we got the mile and a half of barbed wire fence in - +/- probably five feet. There were parts of the old homestead fence still in place - that helped a whole lot.

Out here everything is open range land. Nobody would get their knickers in a twist if a fence were installed without the use of sophisticated survey equipment.

 

[MossRoad]

It is a centimeter level accuracy unit. Not something recreational grade.

Ah, like surveryors' equipment?

My GPS would have me putting fence through the neighbor's living room. :laughing:

 

[bdog]

That's a very expensive piece of equipment - just to locate fence posts. I'm sure somebody had the equipment for other uses.

My property is a true rectangle. 80 acres - 1320 x 2640. Due to hill & gully terrain - never able to eyeball even the short sides. But we got the mile and a half of barbed wire fence in - +/- probably five feet. There were parts of the old homestead fence still in place - that helped a whole lot.

Out here everything is open range land. Nobody would get their knickers in a twist if a fence were installed without the use of sophisticated survey equipment.

Yes they are not cheap. I have seven of them that we use for work. They sure come in handy for other projects though.

 

[bdog]

Here is a picture of the surveying setup.

 

[grsthegreat]

Those are like $25,000 toys. When i did my fence line thru the trees , which was 1,280 feet on long ends and aprox 660 short end, i used my old faithfull transit level and a chain saw. Surveyor had placed stakes at all 4 points. And at road. I was able to site one stake and road stake, swing 180 and start chopping trees and placing mid point stakes. Had to move transit a few times, but at end of 1,280 ft we were only off a few inches from surveyor mark. Close enough for government work. One of your toys sure would have come in handy.

When i did the 10 acres across the street last year, no trees sure helped. Just used transit and 100 foot tape and spray can.

 

[TheMan419]

Interesting to see how it is done in other climates. Here in northern Indiana we dug our holes 36 inches. Pour the mix in dry. There is enough moisture in the ground to set the concrete.

The one corner on the low wet side we did 2 bags for that post. Otherwise just one per post.

 

[bdog]

I am sure it works in some places. Here it is painfully dry. Even at 3’ deep the dirt is so dry it is like powder. It is actually hard to get it out of the hole as it just runs off the auger like sand. I have heard of some people here who pour the dry mix in the hole and then add water but to me that just doesn’t seem as good. In the grand scheme of things and all the other costs involved mixing the concrete isn’t that hard to do. Plus I like knowing how quickly the posts will be set. If you pour dry mix in a hole and count on ground moisture to set it who knows how long that might take right? Premixing I can come back the next day and weld up the fence and know my post isn’t going to move.

We finished setting all the posts yesterday. Ended up using 8.5 pallets, or 360 80lb bags in three days. Today we start welding.

 

[Frankenkubota]

Yup

I致e set them in dry many times.

And in Oregon, Arizona, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

An old timer in Oregon caught me mixing bags for fence poles, I had maybe 75 to do.

He taught me about putting them in dry. I always add some water.

I bet him lunch it wouldn稚 work.

Lunch cost me maybe $20 in all.

Best lost bet in my life!

 

[ruffdog]

We finished setting all the posts yesterday. Ended up using 8.5 pallets, or 360 80lb bags in three days. Today we start welding.

Be sure to show pictures as you go. A nice new fence is a thing of beauty. :thumbsup:

 

[Texasmark]

In my neck of the woods, if you set wooden posts in concrete they rot off in about 3 years. Maybe the dry Texas climate causes different results.

In my N. Tx. Houston Black Clay, they wiggle up out of the ground. You pour with the crete even...at ground level. A year later, after a season of going from mud to rock to mud, you find the crete is 1" above gnd level. Next year 2"...all the while the line T posts drop an inch per year with the cracks that occur in the dry months. Only thing that keeps them from sinking completely is the bottom wire....sink down to it and stop.

 

[Jstpssng]

In my N. Tx. Houston Black Clay, they wiggle up out of the ground. You pour with the crete even...at ground level. A year later, after a season of going from mud to rock to mud, you find the crete is 1" above gnd level. Next year 2"...all the while the line T posts drop an inch per year with the cracks that occur in the dry months. Only thing that keeps them from sinking completely is the bottom wire....sink down to it and stop.

It sounds like rather than quicksand you have slowmud… with the same results over the long term.

 

[bdog]

Yup

I致e set them in dry many times.

And in Oregon, Arizona, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

An old timer in Oregon caught me mixing bags for fence poles, I had maybe 75 to do.

He taught me about putting them in dry. I always add some water.

I bet him lunch it wouldn稚 work.

Lunch cost me maybe $20 in all.

Best lost bet in my life!

We drill a lot of holes for explosives. 3.5” holes typically 10-20’ deep. One time we arrived at a job mid day and the dynamite wasn’t arriving until the next morning. We decided to drill some holes to get a head start and load them in the morning. This was not a low lying area and we were not digging in mud. The cuttings came out like fresh soil. Not dry powdery but definitely not wet. Anyway we drilled about twenty holes and the next morning when we went to load them they were all full of water up to within a foot or two of the surface. I can see where the dry mix would work fine in many places. Here is practically a desert. Maybe pouring water in the hole would work. I prefer having it mixed right. With my skid steer mixer it is probably easier than getting two bags to each hole.

 

[bdog]

Today we welded the top rail on one side of the five acres. I have three helpers but am the only one that can weld and run a torch so it was a slow process. My guys were cleaning the concrete off the posts and raking out the ground as we went along to get rid of the piles from the holes. I am pleased with how it turned out but it is going to take quite a bit more time to finish.

 

[Diggin It]

My guys were cleaning the concrete off the posts and raking out the ground as we went along to get rid of the piles from the holes.

Why? It's a fence, not a living room curio cabinet.

 

[grsthegreat]

Give them a break....why bother going thru all that hard work and not clean off spatter and dirt piles.

 

[bdog]

Because it is basically a fence around my house that borders two paved roads. I want it to look nice. It is not like it is a fence around a back 200 acre pasture or something.