privacy fence

[fishman]

I figured that I would tap into the collective wisdom of TBN to benefit a non-tractor-owning, city-dwelling, postage-stamp-sized-lawn owning buddy of mine.

He put up a 6' privacy fence last fall. Used metal posts on 8' centers, sunk 2.75 feet deep, concreted in approx 10" diameter holes. Three or four old bricks were thrown in the bottom of each hole before the concrete was poured just because it was a convenient way to get rid of them. He used three lateral stringers, which were attached to clamps with screws and clamped to the poles. Cedar boards were then attached using two screws per stringer.

Now the problem. A recent wind storm pushed the fence over about 6 inches which is quite disconcerting after he spent $1500 and 60 hours of work to make it perfect. The soil is a kind of black clay (blackland prairie) and tends to swell shrink and crack with varying levels of moisture.

So, what can he do to fix the problem? What might have caused it? My idea was adding more poles (4' centers) and drilling the holes deeper. He is open to suggestions, as the "approved" method did not work.

 

[njrqs]

Fishman

Tell your non-tractor owning friend to throw you a carton of beer and you'll come over with your tractor and pull his fence straight /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[mikim]

How often do you get wind storms? Often enough to make the expense of redoing the fence worth it? I'd say push it straight and wait - if it only happens once in 5 years ... deal with it each time and let it go. Stats I read said most people move every 5 years or so anyway.
mike

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

fishman,

Your friend might consider alternating the vertical boards on opposite sides of the stringers to provide a path for the wind to go thru the fence. It sounds like it is now a solid wall.

Al