Fencing and Posts

[oosik]

As I remember - back in '82 my four strand barbed wire fence cost around $4200. You can save $$$$ if you purchase supplies in bulk.

A pallet of barbed wire = 24 rolls. A pallet of T-145 posts = 250 posts.

It is one and a half miles around my property.

 

[two_bit_score]

Stay Tuff Fencing has good info on their website:

Stay-Tuff | Superior Fence Products

Stay-Tuff is a leading manufacturer of agricultural fences. We make some of the most durable and impact resistant fences in the market, plus a full line of fencing tools and accessories.

staytuff.com

 

[two_bit_score]

It’s a great stapler. Fast.

Since I haven’t used one and you have, please shed more light. The videos I’ve seen show the staples being driven tight. I was taught and have always practiced to leave some space so the wire can be tightened up later if it has to be. Can the depth be set so it does not set the staple tight on the wire? Nailers can usually be adjusted so but the vids showed them just popping it as deep as possible.

 

[Jrasband]

I have been building fence lately, no t-posts as I am installing electric on the fence and metal and electric fence are enemies. I bought 5-6" x 7" line posts and 6-7" 8' corner and end posts. I have also been making split locust posts to save some money. With a post pounder on the tractor it is easy to install them. I suggest you look at Kencove website, they have some very helpful articles on properly installing field fencing. For instance, if you want a 54" tall fence you should have double H-braces and the horizontal should be 10' long. The brace post can be installed to have a 2" back lean against the pull of the fence to stop the fence from uplifting the post. You corner, and end posts should be 4' in the ground.

I can't imagine digging post holes by hand or with a tractor auger, what a pain.

I read an article on the Kencove website that said driven in posts are something like 10 times more resistant to being pulled over than hand dug or auger set posts.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'll add that when a post does rot off at ground level, and you want to replace it with another post in the same spot, getting the part that's left in the ground out is a royal pain. I have a corner I need to deal with and I'm dreading it.

A couple times a year I'll have a client hire me to replace a fence post that has rotted out on them. This is always in a city, and it's always a 6 foot privacy fence. I've never been hired to work on a farm fence.

Since it's in town, I just dig down on one side of the post until I get to the bottom of it, then pull it over. It's rare that the post is still in one piece. Usually there is a little concrete around the post, down towards the bottom. I guess the fencing contractor dumps a single sack in the hole, then fills the rest with dirt. I've seen this so many times, it must be common practice. I'm not a fencing contractor and I refuse to do do new fencing jobs. I just fix what others have already done.

Once the post is out of the ground, I set the new post, attach all the fencing, replace what's in bad shape, and get it all level and straight. Then I fill with concrete and build it up so water will run away from the post. In 20 years of doing this, I've never seen any rot of any kind on the posts that I've set this way.

For my personal farm fencing, I use round posts. For those privacy fences in town, I use treated 6x6 posts. Usually I'm replacing 4x4 or landscaping posts that are flat on two sides, round on two sides.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Since I haven’t used one and you have, please shed more light. The videos I’ve seen show the staples being driven tight. I was taught and have always practiced to leave some space so the wire can be tightened up later if it has to be. Can the depth be set so it does not set the staple tight on the wire? Nailers can usually be adjusted so but the vids showed them just popping it as deep as possible.

Pressure is adjustable.

 

[paulsharvey]

Turns out the Tee posts I had where 6 ft; not 6.5 ft... I would have sworn they where 6.5. Decided to go Wood, Tee, tee, tee, wood, tee, tee, tee, wood, ect. Picked up 30 6 ft tee posts today for about $4.30/each. Figure if I set a handful every weekend, it will get done eventually. Not looking forwards to the parts in the woods, but I did clear a 6 ft wide "path" where the fence goes on the one side. Going to use 8 ft wood corners.

 

[two_bit_score]

Turns out the Tee posts I had where 6 ft; not 6.5 ft... I would have sworn they where 6.5. Decided to go Wood, Tee, tee, tee, wood, tee, tee, tee, wood, ect. Picked up 30 6 ft tee posts today for about $4.30/each. Figure if I set a handful every weekend, it will get done eventually. Not looking forwards to the parts in the woods, but I did clear a 6 ft wide "path" where the fence goes on the one side. Going to use 8 ft wood corners.

What will be the distance between the T-posts?
Stay Tuff recommends 25 feet between posts for high tensile.

 

[EddieWalker]

Very good price for T posts!!!!

 

[paulsharvey]

What will be the distance between the T-posts?
Stay Tuff recommends 25 feet between posts for high tensile.

Going 8ft OC. I could probably stretch that out, but I'm not super impressed with the hold capacity of 18" of tee post in sand. Maybe that doesn't really matter with good corners?

Edit: it's entirely possible just every 4th wooden posts is needed?

 

[paulsharvey]

My main concern now is; although not my property, the neighboring parcels are vacant, out of state owners, and I do some times use one as the easy way to get the trailer, and as a back up/turn around. Guess I'll have to be careful backing up for a while, till I get used to it.

 

[Carl_NH]

I'd say you are safe with 10-12' between T posts Wood - T-T-T -Wood set up makes a wood post every 40-45' so on 1000 Ft that's 30-35 wood posts less corner bracing etc.

The T posts really just keep it in line and vertical, but you could run a heavier top wire too would help if you have horses/cattle trying to eat on the other side.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

My main concern now is; although not my property, the neighboring parcels are vacant, out of state owners, and I do some times use one as the easy way to get the trailer, and as a back up/turn around. Guess I'll have to be careful backing up for a while, till I get used to it.

Most ajoining properties here have gates between them. Main purpose is to get the livestock back to where they belong after the fence is compromised.

When I rebuilt the fences here I talked to my neighbors about keeping the gates in the locations they were before the rebuild.

Ended up working out very good, as 7 years later I needed concrete trucks to pour a footing. My bridge would not hold the weight of the concrete truck, but my neighbors bridge would. Got there permission to cross there property to get it poured.
They joked about the good neighbor fence and gate.
They truly are good neighbors.

 

[ning]

Around here we have gates to the neighbors in case of fire, if you don't have time to grab horses etc or if they're too spooked to catch, open the gates and go

I put gates in my fences in each direction; there's a man gate on one stretch where there's a steeper hill that I'll never take a tractor through, and a 12' gate on another section for the aforementioned neighbor passage (I occasionally mow a couple spots for him too, good neighbor points).

If you just have a fence that's easily climbed through the man gates aren't important but I've got 2x4 woven wire everywhere and don't like having to walk halfway across the property too find a way to the other side of the fence.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I'm building a fence around my place to keep cattle, horses and goats in, but also to keep wild hogs out. For my fence, I'm putting 6 inch round posts in at my corners, and every 100 feet. I'm putting 6 foot T posts in every ten feet. My fence is four feet tall, 2x4 horse fence. It's super expensive, but because of my goats and horses, I don't want to use anything with a smaller spacing. I also use the same 2x4 fencing on my dog yard.

From what I'm seeing, your costs are about as good as I've seen. I just paid $5.09 for 6 foot T posts.

If you are going to add wood rails to the posts, then the 8 foot spacing makes sense, but then you really don't want to try to attach wood rails to T posts. I would reconsider that idea and then spread you T posts out farther. For high tensile field fence, you can easily go 15 feet apart for your T posts. Especially if all you are doing is marking your property line and keeping your dogs in. I've read that some high tensile fence manufactures say that you can go 25 feet in spacing your T posts. Where I have my cows, I've been paying attention to what everyone else is doing, and it's all over the place. I've seen T posts spread out 15 feet apart, and running for thousands of feet with just T posts. I've also seen fence lines with all wood posts without any T posts used to hold in cattle. I'm not sure if there is an actual wrong or right way to do this since nobody really seems to know, or care. My goal is to build it as good as I can, and not have to do it again.

How are you stretching your wire? I bought one of these 4 foot stretcher bars from Kencove that I highly recommend. I put a come along on the top and another on the bottom, and I can really pull the fence tight quickly and easily on my own. I use my backhoe with some chains to anchor the come along's.

Fencer's Choice Stretcher Bar

Fencer's Choice Stretcher Bar - Woven Wire Accessories - Woven Wire

kencove.com

View attachment 805362

We run 3,000 mama cows. Not counting calves and bulls. Many miles of junkified fence. Never had any get out.

 

[paulsharvey]

The one side with a aerial power easement half on mine/half on neighbors parcel, I'm putting a 10 ft gate that I had in the bone yard. The Green outline is roughly what still needs fenced. Gate on left side of picture.

Wife wants to install gate opener on the main 16 ft gate at the road.