Building a fence for the dog

[wvpolekat]

I will be building a fence for the dog once we finalize things at the new place.

The primary purpose of the fence will be to contain the dog (norwegian elkhound/german shepard) and to keep bears away from the dog (and vice versa), as well as contain the kidlets. The dog is not a real digger that I know of, but she has been kept on a run until this.

I have searched the forums here and read many threads on fencing, so I have a pretty good idea what I need to do there. I will be going with 60" welded wire fencing with wood corners and t posts inbetween.

I would like to bury the bottom 12" or so of the fence to prevent digging.

A trencher MAY be an option, but it would be a rental and I would rather buy something for the 2N that will do the job. I will probably be renting something to drive the t posts (skid steer?, excavator?).

What would be best for trenching to bury the fence? Middlebuster? Subsoiler?

What should I be looking at to drive the t posts? I am leaning towards a skid steer because I can get an auger for it to do the corners and use the bucket to sink the t posts. Is that reasonable? Or should I just pay some high school kids to drive them with one of the post drivers?

How do I deal with rocks when burying the fence? Just trim the bottom to fit over them and keep the top edge straight?

 

[kenstrac]

I used landscape timbers for post $2.98 each at Lowe's and put them 10ft apart c/l ,I then took the fencing and sandwiched it to the post with strapping with galv screws I cut the post to 5ft and attached a PT 2x4 and screwed that to the top I had about 100 pcs of 1/4 in steel rods that I bent a U on one end and drove them into the ground capturing the fence with the U to stop them from digging under this was a cost efficient way to do a fence since everything is screwed I can remove it for access to my septic system and the top rail prevents the dog from getting tangled up in fence.

 

[MMagis]

T-posts can be driven with a sledge hammer, or at most, a T-post driver. $30 at TSC.

 

[davey4000]

In lieu of burying the fence 12" you could save some money by attaching 24" wide chicken wire to the bottom of the welded wire fence with hog rings, lay it on the ground and cover it up slightly with dirt. You could pin it to the ground as well.

 

[wvpolekat]

T-posts can be driven with a sledge hammer, or at most, a T-post driver. $30 at TSC.

That sounds ALOT like manual labor. My shoulders are trashed enough.

 

[wvpolekat]

In lieu of burying the fence 12" you could save some money by attaching 24" wide chicken wire to the bottom of the welded wire fence with hog rings, lay it on the ground and cover it up slightly with dirt. You could pin it to the ground as well.

Good idea. I assume that grass will eventually grow over it.

 

[CurlyDave]

That sounds ALOT like manual labor. My shoulders are trashed enough.

Just get it started a few inches and "lean" on it with your FEL.

 

[wvpolekat]

Just get it started a few inches and "lean" on it with your FEL.

Except that I am lacking in FEL. I see a skid steer rental in my future to bore the holes and push the posts in. Although, last time I looked, the auger rental for the skid steer was as much as a 3pt PHD.

 

[kenstrac]

That's why I said to use landscape timbers I did all the work with a PHD and use the phd for planting and breaking the ground for larger holes when planting fruit trees.

 

[wvpolekat]

That's why I said to use landscape timbers I did all the work with a PHD and use the phd for planting and breaking the ground for larger holes when planting fruit trees.

Ah! I gotcha now. Excuse to buy a PHD!