Fence Posts, upside down or not?

[tallyho8]

I'm putting in round treated fence posts. Should I put them in upside down or right-side up? The posts are narrower on the top and wider on the bottom.

The way that I put fence posts in is that I use my tractor post hole digger to dig a hole about an inch or two smaller than the diameter of the post and then I make the hole about 30 inches deep if I want to bury the post 36 inches.

Then I set the post by the hole and push it in with my front end loader. This makes the post very tight and I do not have any hole to backfill.

This method works perfect if I put the poles in upside down but some have told me it is best to put the posts in right side up with the wide end to the bottom. If I do that then it makes the hole wider than the post and I have to backfill it and it never seems as tight.

Your opinion?

 

[rgood]

I think the post is going to last longer if you put them in right side up.

 

[whistlepig]

I'm putting in round treated fence posts. Should I put them in upside down or right-side up? The posts are narrower on the top and wider on the bottom.

The way that I put fence posts in is that I use my tractor post hole digger to dig a hole about an inch or two smaller than the diameter of the post and then I make the hole about 30 inches deep if I want to bury the post 36 inches.

Then I set the post by the hole and push it in with my front end loader. This makes the post very tight and I do not have any hole to backfill.

This method works perfect if I put the poles in upside down but some have told me it is best to put the posts in right side up with the wide end to the bottom. If I do that then it makes the hole wider than the post and I have to backfill it and it never seems as tight.

Your opinion?

Not the traditional method of installing wooden fence posts. I doubt the fence post knows if it is upside down or not. They say if the taper is small at the bottom and large at the top the fence post will eventually work itself out of the ground. That has not been the case in my experience. I do put the big side down just from habit.

 

[Western]

Seems that if the wider end is in the ground, the extra canter may help keep the post from "heaving" up later.

I've never seen a power pole put in any other way. They must know something and they have allot on the "line".

 

[whistlepig]

"Heaving" in the north is due to the ground repeatably freezing and thawing.

 

[rockinmywaypa]

Something to consider is that over the posts lifespan is that it is going to eventually rot away below ground level. Putting the largest end in the ground keeps more solid material in use after you lose an inch or so to rot even if it takes 15 years.

 

[jimmyj]

Something to consider is that over the posts lifespan is that it is going to eventually rot away below ground level. Putting the largest end in the ground keeps more solid material in use after you lose an inch or so to rot even if it takes 15 years.

I don't think it matters in the grand scheme but my good neighbour from Owen Sound Ontario makes a good point!

 

[TRR]

Since you're in Lousiana I don't think you'll have to worry about frost heaving. If I were digging a hole and tamping dirt back around the post, I'd put big end down. However, you're treating the post like a piling and that goes in small end down.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Heaving aside, posts will loosen when the ground is extremely wet. Put the large end down. The tapered backfill will resist uplift and pulling from tensioning the fence.

 

[RobertBrown]

I'm putting in round treated fence posts. Should I put them in upside down or right-side up? The posts are narrower on the top and wider on the bottom.



Your opinion?

I'm assuming you are refering to the widest diameter as the down or underground end.......and I'm assuming your fence is wire....
It just so happens I've been planting fence posts for the past several weekends. My technique differs from yours but then so does my fence and my fence needs.
I'm building a board fence (4) with 6.5" round posts at the joints and 3.5" round posts at the middle (of the fence board). I think my posts have to be placed a little more carefully than yours do and I don't have and auger attachment so I hand dig the holes. I put the straightest end of the post up, and usually the narrowest end of the post in the hole as this gives me more post up to to nail to and the fence is more straight.
With a board fence, if the posts aren't dead plumb and straight the fence starts looking bad quick, I don't think it is quite so critcal with a wire fence. And since my goals are mainly asthetic, I need to take my time with the post planting.
I snap two lines, one at the top and one at the bottom of the posts, the lines are perfectly parallel and congruent. This allows me to get the posts to line up perfectly. I use a plumb bob the plumb them up the other way and I partially fill the holes with concrete, allow it to set before I nail the boards with a nail gun.
This way when I look down the fence row, when it is finished I can smile