tempory fence

[Anonymous Poster]

Does anyone have ideas for this. I own a small amount of land that adjoins a larger piece of property. Right now both are being tilled and farmed. I would like to mark the boundary of my property,but do not want to put a pernament fence across as it would just draw weeds and would be a hindrance to farm around.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

If you're wanting to have a way to just stare at how much good fortune you have or to occasionally show someone just where yours starts try this.

Put a post that's visible, say painted orange or red at each corner. Then put one just like it in the middle.

You can stand anywhere in that line and look at the end where you can see two posts and move until you only see one. You will be standing on the property line.

It takes three posts and the one in the middle doesn't have to necessarily be in the middle. It just has to be in line with the other two.

If you think I'm wrong try it. To test it hold a fourth post in your hand plumb. That is have it perfectly straight up and down, a four foot level works great, a post with a torpedo level held against it works just as good.

Look down one side and keep moving it, holding it plumb, critical, until as you're looking down the side of it you can just see the post closest to you. If you move the post in your hand the proverbial hair and you see the second post at the end move it back and you're dead on the property line. You can pull a string on a calm day and do the same thing. But your eye will work even when the wind's blowing. And wrapping it up is a lot easier and it never gets lost in the bottom of the tool box either./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[rstcso]

I had the same "problem" with a 26 acre piece I owned. The land had been farmed (cotton, maize...) by the same guy for over 20 years. He didn't own this piece, but since it adjoined a big piece he did, the owners just leased this "little bit" of land to him. I set posts in the four corners, that's all. Of course, this was open black soil farm land, so I could see all four from anywhere I stood. I too, wanted to get the "feel" for what was mine /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif. Boy did the farmer get bent out of shape for my having done this. He started telling me how hard it is to turn a big piece of farm equipment around with those posts in the way (only two adjoined his property). But he got over it. I ended up leasing it to him, then divorcing and selling the property. Knowing him, he probably pulled the posts as soon as it sold, hoping the new owners would think they were his and not try to replace them /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

wroughtn_harv,

Been worndering aboiut your fence lining up method that you mentioned in another thread...

I assume it is done like you outlined above. I was going to ask you some day...

BUT...Say the fence line was pretty long. OK, you know where the corners are, so in goes a post at each end.

How do you get the one in the middle placed accurately? I can imagine pullin a string on a windless day [maybe...] or some other method.

Is there some easy way that a guy like me with a little brain and no transit can get that center post planted accurately on the property line?

Like to know if you have the time and must say I do enjoy reading your posts!

Bill in Pgh, PA.

 

[gerard]

If you're worried about mowing around the posts after diggeing the hole find a piece of pvc that the post will slip into. Put that in the ground and backfill and put the post in that, then when you mow you can just pull the post, mow over it and put the post back.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I'm glad you're having fun here too Bill. This has got to be the best place on the net yet.

Let's say I was dropping in at your place for a week of fencing. And let's say just for sake of conversation you were laid up and could only watch, gimpy kinda sorta if'n you know what I mean.

And let's say you had a fence line five hundred foot long with survey pins at the corners. And you'd agreed that you'd feel better with the fence on your property but as close to the line as is reasonable.

I'd grab a couple of light weight five foot long posts say like you buy at Home Depot for chainlink fencing. I'd drop one off about where I thought would work near the middle. Just lay that puppy down so I could find it when I was ready.

I'd go to the furtherest pin and place the post with me about two inches inside the pin on your side of the line. The way I usually do that is I just stab that puppy hard like a couple of times into the ground until it's where I want it and it's standing up. I take out my torpedo level and plumb it up.

I grab two more marking posts and head for the other end. I do the first one just like the one I'd done at the other end.

Then I take the other post and walk down about fifty to a hundred feet beyond the property pin if I can. A hundred is better than fifty on long distances.

That post I sight in on the two posts at the pins. I hold it plumb and move it until again there's only one post when I glance down the side of the one I'm holding. I usually lean it out a smidge just to verify that it's sitting where moving it the proverbial red hair would reveal the edge of two posts instead of just one like I want.

I stab that post in place and plumb it up.

I then mosey down to the middle post laying on the ground and sight it in the same way looking back at the two posts I just placed. Then it's just a walk to the first post to look back to verify that it's dead on. Nine times out of nine it will be.

Another technique I use when I can't place a marker post beyond the pin is to sight back down the line between the two pin posts. I try to find something I can see that is real close to being in my line. It might be a stone or a flower or a piece of grass sorta kaddywampus to the rest of the grass around it.

I go stab in my middle post and plumb it up. I walk back and check it for line. It's usually out a bit. I've found out the further it is from the post I'm sighting down the more it's off. I think that has something to do with my inner self making my outer self work./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I move it to where it should be. Sometimes should be is an elusive devil and it takes five to six trips to get it right. Thank gawd we only have to do that in set up.

If I was a professional I'd have a helper. Then it's a lot easier. You see the second thing the helper learns after who is boss is what plumb is and just how important it is.

I'd set up the close end and send the helper to the furtherest end. When he's the boss he can have the near end. Until then he gets the far end, RHIP as they say in France.

After he gets the far end post plumbed up he comes back to the middle post he dropped on the way there. He holds the post plumb and moves it in and out of line watching closely my directions. When it's dead on he stabs it, plumbs it, and checks with me to see if it's where I want it.

Let's say for grins that you have some trees in the line and you don't want to take them out, good man, like your attitude.

But you want the fence in the right place on each side of the trees.

No problemo as they say in Chicago.

You set the marker posts an equal distance at each end in where you can see beside the trees. You do your line beside the trees marking your holes. When you're clear of the trees you mark back your distance in and you have your marker post for that end of the fence. You do the same thing at the other end.

Let's say you're going to do a fence around the house. The property line is completely incidental cause it's a mile or so away but you want the fence line to match the house.

Your wife has you walk out from the house until she thinks that's just about right. You stab and plumb a marker post. Measure that marker post's distance from the house. Go to the other end and mark off the same distance and you now will have a fence line parallel to the house. You will also have the two marker posts you need to sight in the corners for that side. If you're slick you can talk the wife into buying that measurement for all four sides, life can be good when you're slick.

You might also think about your gates at this time. What I'd do if the fence is a yard fence is watch where the boss has decided is her path. That's the place for the gate, end of story. And always consider whether the gate should open in or out or both ways.

A rule of thumb is it's best when there's animals involved that the gate only open in.

A fence done well is thing of pride and beauty. It's sorta like a good complexion. You really don't think about it much unless you don't have it.

 

[DUMBDOG]

Harv, that is one heck of system you have there! I will use that when i build my fence. Thanks! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Wroughtn_harv,

Thanks! Great technique and one that I will keep handy for future use!

Going beyond the property boundary to sight in the center post did not enter my mind, but it is the obvious answer once you see it.

Great info! Thanks for taking the time to post it.

Bill In Pgh, PA

 

[Earnsfan]

First of all pay the money for a surveyor to come out and verify where your property is then just sink some posts along the line spacing them out pretty far. when you want to buikd your permanent fence come back and do it right.
Mike