Fence post types

[Lebneh]

I need to put in some fence post and I don't know which type of post will do better job. This is going to be a fence around fruit trees. I think just about everyone in the area is using wood posts on their farms/land. In the past I have done T-post.

I may do some electric or I may just put all barbed wire, not sure yet.

Basically, I am looking for a pros/cons of wood vs t-post fences. The prices are similar so it would be what's the best fit.

3.5 inch wood post (treated) or t-post.

 

[turnkey4099]

I need to put in some fence post and I don't know which type of post will do better job. This is going to be a fence around fruit trees. I think just about everyone in the area is using wood posts on their farms/land. In the past I have done T-post.

I may do some electric or I may just put all barbed wire, not sure yet.


Basically, I am looking for a pros/cons of wood vs t-post fences. The prices are similar so it would be what's the best fit.

3.5 inch wood post (treated) or t-post.

T-posts will outlast any wooden post by decades. Problem with them is somehow bracing the corners.

Harry K

 

[texasjohn]

T post....let me repeat...T post. Fast to drive, not too hard to remove, are reusable. All wood posts I have used have caused problems...rot, hard to dig post holes...T posts work for electric, barb or net fence...wood posts are traditional, but I wish I had never used even one...I have tried all sorts of treated posts....all rot or go bad all too quick....For end braces, use welded pipe if you can...

 

[Ken45101]

Why the welded pipe?

 

[Lebneh]

T post....let me repeat...T post. Fast to drive, not too hard to remove, are reusable. All wood posts I have used have caused problems...rot, hard to dig post holes...T posts work for electric, barb or net fence...wood posts are traditional, but I wish I had never used even one...I have tried all sorts of treated posts....all rot or go bad all too quick....For end braces, use welded pipe if you can...

Can you give a link from TSC or Home Depot for the welded pipe that you are talking about.

Thanks for the knowledge.

 

[forgeblast]

T-posts have a corner bracing kit. tsc has them, that's were I got them from. The only thing I have noticed is that there was a bit of frost heave on them. I will go back out tomorrow and smash them down but with all the accessory's for them I like them a lot. They have stand offs for e'fence etc. I also found its easier to install, we have so much rock, digging a hole to put a fence post is difficult on a good day, let alone when you find a huge rock right where you need to place a post.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Back in my childhood days, all we had were wooden post and one of my spring jobs was to go around with a hand post hole digger and replace all the rotten post. Sure wish they had T post back then. We put up several miles of fencing here on the farm and used all T post except at corners and at gates. Gates are still hung on old telephone poles that are put at least 4 feet in the ground. Telephone poles are about the only thing that has enough creosote on them to prevent rot. We used treated post for H bracing at the corners. These will likely outlive both me and my brother in law.
We had a pole barn on the home place that my Dad and I built (mostly Dad as I was about 10 or12 years old) using telephone poles that is over 50 years old and poles are still as good as the day we put them in the ground.

 

[oldballs]

Wood PT posts rot all too soon as another has posted. I just discovered three posts that rotted at ground level, just like they had been sawed off. Those posts were not more than 10 years old. I had used them for corner posts. Darn-n-n-. Am replacing them again with wood, but in ten more years, I'll be gone too.

 

[EddieWalker]

Every wooden post that I've ever seen that rotted out was because there was a low around the base of the post where water stood after it rained or the area was watered. For a wood post to last, water must drain away from the post. What happens is the fill that goes in around the post either settles if it was dirt, or the concrete is only brought up to ground level and once the grass grows back, that area becomes the low area. You have to mound the dirt or concrete up and if you use dirt, you have to go back and check it periodically. Usually after a few months and several rains it's done settling, but just like everything else, keep an eye on it and fix it when it needs more dirt.

I like treated posts for my corners and either every fifth or sixth t post, or an H bracket on longer runs that go up or down, or change direction. You can't have too many H brackets!!

Eddie

 

[DT86]

3.5" wood posts are basically useless. They are very easy to break.

I would use t posts as the like posts and good 6"+ corner, gate and end treated posts.

 

[Western]

Every wooden post that I've ever seen that rotted out was because there was a low around the base of the post where water stood after it rained or the area was watered. For a wood post to last, water must drain away from the post. What happens is the fill that goes in around the post either settles if it was dirt, or the concrete is only brought up to ground level and once the grass grows back, that area becomes the low area. You have to mound the dirt or concrete up and if you use dirt, you have to go back and check it periodically. Usually after a few months and several rains it's done settling, but just like everything else, keep an eye on it and fix it when it needs more dirt.

Eddie

What Eddie said:thumbsup: Even metal will suffer from standing water, you have to drain water away from the base of a post. Even electric companies installing T-poles, will mound some of the dirt up around the base.

You can use the t-post kit for corners, but if you want more strenght, weld or have welded the corner braces, gate brace and "H" braces you need out of a medium walled 2-3/8 or 2-7/8 pipe. You can use railroad ties, or cut telephone poles and brace them in the traditional manner if they are available localy and use t-post for all the line post.

 

[oosik]

I have 1.5 miles of 5 strand barb wire fencing around the property. I'm 99% 133 T-post. For the corners I've made rock gabions out of steel pallets and expanded steel. They are 4'x4'x4' and when filled with rock they will definitely anchor the fence corners. My fence crosses a "moat" which runs between my two lakes and the T-posts in this area are dissolved by the extremely alkaline water in the big lake. These post must be replaced - on an average - of every 8-10 years. I'm trying an alternate to T-posts in the moat area. I'm now using cedar fence posts - about 2x to 3x the cost of steel but they are said to last at least four times longer. We will see - the cedar posts have been in the ground 12 years now and show no signs of rotting.

 

[Ken45101]

I have had cedar posts that did not last more than 5 years.

I have not had problems (so far) with good treated fence posts. We have been here 12 years now. Last year I pulled out some treated posts that had been backfilled with dry concrete (and some with wet concrete). They were in excellent condition and, after pounding off the concrete, I will use them again.

Of course, for corner and gate posts, bigger is better and used telephone poles are great. There is a farm supply store about 40 miles from here that sells sections of old poles.

I'm not sure what the secret is. It well could be mounding the dirt up next to the post.

 

[Western]

Another good idea I use on wooden post, at a minimum, I will cut an angle and then paint or oil the top to keep water out. I have also use tin cut to cover the top, but it is a bit more time consuming.

 

[TheGoose]

T posts don't last quite so well near the coast...

 

[oosik]

I agree that any type - wood or steel or cement - post is going to have trouble in the water. About 8-10 posts in my moat area are continually in wet ground and for 2-3 months per year the moat area is flooded and these post bases are under water. The very best "post" I've found is a railroad tie. Its drawbacks are cost and weight. I have no idea what a 10" tie weighs but I can not lift one by myself into a post hole. The soil and water in our lakes in this area can be VERY alkaline. I know this alkaline condition is what causes the problems with the steel T-posts in my moat area. The neighbor, down the way, tried new cement RR ties in a damp area and they dissolved like candy in a child's mouth. I'm just hoping the cedar posts in the moat area last longer than steel and I don't have to go to RR ties.

 

[TomSeller]

My one and done end cap and corner post. Solid as a rock.

 

[AGRIMAN]

Every man to his own liking, but I much prefer treaded wooden post. I use 4.5 to 5.5 wooden line post (driven) and utility post for the corners (range from 12" to 20"). I have never have a good quality thread post rot out in 10 years. A metal post may last longer, but around here T post tend to fade in the sun and rust. Nothing look worse to me than a bunch of rusty metal T post, so I will replace the wooden one's when they eventually rot.

Our latest fencing project will have nearly 10 miles of new fence and all the post will be wooden, but that's my preference.

 

[dmccarty]

We only have a gate across the road but it is made from 4x4 and 6x6 .4 PT CCA wood. The gate has been up almost 14 years and is in good shape even though one side is very, very wet. The posts even held up when a bulldozer hit the gate and dang near pulled the gate off the hinges. The posts are fine. The gate and hinges, not so much.

T Posts that are the same age look like scat since the tops have rusted. Having said that, if we built a property line fence, I would use T posts with .4 PT ACQ as corners and brace posts.

Our ground is clay and rock or rock and clay if a post is required. The ground stays wet during the winter and only dries out when the temp's go up and the trees start drinking again. By wet I mean, if I drive the tractor is most areas, I can make a huge rutted up mess do the saturated ground.

Later,
Dan

 

[TomSeller]

My 7.5" x 7.5" x 8' concrete and rebar fence posts weigh 500 lbs each and cost a little over $30, but they will last for generations. RR Ties are close to $20 and not very good quality these days. They last me 20 years. Cedar maybe 8 years.