Setting Fence Posts Issue

[plowhog]

In my opinion, it is impossible to keep water away from a post with dirt.

Eddie,

I've seen many posts get set using concrete, but the concrete does not entirely fill the hole. The homeowner adds a final layer of dirt over the concrete so it is more visually pleasing instead of seeing a block of concrete.

Leaving such a layer seems to invite the layer of ground rot you have experienced. When you set posts in concrete now, do you bring the concrete up to grade, and maybe a little beyond with a crown>

 

[oosik]

For my gate and one property corner I use REAL railroad ties. Exceedingly heavy and gooey in warm weather.

They have been there 42+ years and are still solid as a rock.

The remainder of my fence - T-145 steel posts and barbed wire.

 

[square1]

Keep digging, eventually you'll be through the clay into a aquifer or gravel seam that will drain away the water.... or not

 

[RjCorazza]

For my gate and one property corner I use REAL railroad ties. Exceedingly heavy and gooey in warm weather.

They have been there 42+ years and are still solid as a rock.

The remainder of my fence - T-145 steel posts and barbed wire.

I have a bunch of 25 year old railroad ties that are still plenty solid. My shipping container sits on 8 of them, and the others were made into a bridge over my small stream. They are stamped as coming out of New York City, presumably from the subway?
Even in my younger days I recall them being God awful heavy.

 

[oosik]

Did you know - a healthy, reasonably strong man CAN NOT lift one end of a full RR tie? It's no wonder they leave ties stacked out in the open and unprotected.

It was right at the very limit of our abilities. A friend and I lifted and slid six RR ties into my pickup. I certainly appreciated what the tractor could do when I got these ties home.

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie,

I've seen many posts get set using concrete, but the concrete does not entirely fill the hole. The homeowner adds a final layer of dirt over the concrete so it is more visually pleasing instead of seeing a block of concrete.

Leaving such a layer seems to invite the layer of ground rot you have experienced. When you set posts in concrete now, do you bring the concrete up to grade, and maybe a little beyond with a crown>

I build up the concrete above grade, into a crown so the water will flow away from the post.

This is a corner post that I put in after the Surveyor marked it. My land is on the left of the post.

 

[ponytug]

Not sure my clay will hold water most of the time. Not exactly moist here most of the time and this was a dry winter. Very low snow fall. This is the first time I have found any clay that was not hard and dry. This area (corner) obviously is different. What I did not mention is that I found a gravel and sandy clay combination at 20 inches like drillers find where they hit water when drilling. As I said the next morning the water was at 12 inches and the following day I had water at grade. The soil in the area is pretty much dry (slightly moist maybe)at the surface and for the first 12 inches of digging. For the water to rise to grade there must be enough hydraulic pressure to force the water up that much. It is almost like I now have a small spring.

I have spots like that as well; water gets into the gravel and flows for through it going down hill. The funny ones, for me at least, are the ground squirrel burrows that turn into bubblers an inch or two high of bubbling water after heavy rains. The water gets into the burrows up the hill, and then erupts like a garden hose lower down. We also have some historic iron pipes that drain water for the same reasons.

My thoughts are that if the water drains in to your fence post holes now, it will probably keep draining over the years. If it were me, I would be very tempted to use @EddieWalker's concrete method for posts in that area.

All the best,

Peter

 

[plowhog]

I build up the concrete above grade, into a crown so the water will flow away from the post.

I really like this-- thanks!

I am about to build a decorative fence at my side yard. Using cedar I milled in CA but that's another story ...

The only thing I don't like about the crown/concrete is the aesthetics. It looks fine in a pasture but along side a green lawn it might conflict. I've never colored any concrete-- maybe doing that would be a good compromise for residential use? To make it blend in a little better?

 

[EddieWalker]

Concrete is easy to paint, you just have to use a primer that is designed to be used on concrete. Once it's primed, you can paint it any color.

 

[Jstpssng]

Even in my younger days I recall them being God awful heavy

My father kept telephone poles and other lumber around so that he had it when he needed it. He also had a stack of RR ties which were great for a lot of things.
One day he put a pulp hook into one of them, heaved... and dislocated his shoulder. The first thing he did after healing from the surgery was put them out at the side of the road (using the tractor) with a "free" sign on them.