Replies

1. 
   Mike_Smith | Jul 04, 2001 09:35pm | #1

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   dig a hole about 40" deep..put a bucket of stones in the bottom

   put in the post and backfill with granular material..

   use an iron bar to pack the material.. plumb it as you go with your level..

1. 
   JonC_ | Jul 04, 2001 10:02pm | #2

   *Dont buy one of those chintzy two sided post levels. For a couple bucks more you can get a cheap 4' builder's level. Even a good torpedo level would be more accurate and useful for other things than those little pieces of crap. Just set your ends and corners first and string your lines.JonC

1. 
   Dave_Richeson | Jul 04, 2001 11:53pm | #3

   *Hey, Pro Deck. Bob, didn't I see one of those "chintzy two side" things on one of your deck post in the gallery?I have never used one, but they look like they would work on a good staight post. Gives us your opinion.Dave

1. 
   Jefe_ | Jul 05, 2001 12:35am | #4

   *How do you hold the post level while filling the hole? Do you brace them, or just wiggle the post ever so often til the hole is filled?

1. 
   James_DuHamel | Jul 05, 2001 05:38pm | #5

   *I have two ways of setting posts by myself.Short posts I use a "chintzy" $60 post level. They work great. It allows me to eyeball the post while I am letting the fast setting concrete set up. I have always checked for level with a 4' masons level after the concrete sets enough to hold the post (but still soft enough to move the post if necessary), and it is rare that I ever had to adjust a post.Long posts I use braces. When I set the post in the ground, I lean it to one side and attach at least two, sometimes 3 pieces of 1 x 2 (about 24" long) to the post. I get the post pretty level, then I add the fast setting cement. I adjust as necessary, and move on to the next one.Some people do not like fast setting cement for post holes, but here it is standard. Also, here, our frost line is non existent. We bury posts 24" or so. Most places go down about 36" to 48" depending on frost line level. James DuHamel

2. 
   Jim_Hassberger | Jul 05, 2001 06:21pm | #6

   *Just did the same job, and as James noted I braced the posts before backfilling. Except I used 2 6-foot long 1x2-ish (scrap) braces per post, set at right angles to each other. I found shorter braces moved too easily. The braces were pinned to the post near the top, and angled down to the ground. It was easy to nudge the braces to plumb the posts, and they held the post fine while backfilling with concrete.

3. 
   splintergroupie_ | Jul 05, 2001 10:58pm | #7

   *I set end posts first, then string yellow nylon line real tight between them, one for height and another one near the bottom for a plane surface--be sure the posts are really set up before doing this. (This really speeds things up because you are already plumb in one direction without just by nudging the post to the lines.) I dig the postholes a little more than the depth of the buried part of the post. I plumb the post to the stringlines, but bottomed in the hole, then pour in some sewer rock, a foot or so deep. Then i can raise the post to the height of the top line and the rock holds the base end in place/plumb and sloughs in to support the post at the right height. I do it this way because i can do a better job cutting the ends on the miter saw instead of wrassling a skilsaw in mid-air to trim to height afterward. I use about one 90# bag of pre-mix per post, mixing for one post at a time. I pour this around the base, wiggle the post to plumb by slapping a level on the side of the post facing the other post, rod the cement to eliminate voids, and tool the top of the the cement to slope away from the post to shed water. I haven't had to do any bracing with this method, as the base is trapped by the rock and the concrete sets quickly enough, though the tallest posts i've done were 5 1/2'. I like to have rock under the post bottom for drainage instead of concrete--i'm not sure if James believes in this or not from reading his similar method.Stretch your stringlines for plumb on the side of the post that your rails will be installed, so that any variation in the size of the posts won't be made noticeable with a wavy rail.

4. 
   Pro-Dek | Jul 06, 2001 06:01am | #8

   *Hey Dave- I love those "chintzy things" cause you can hold the post with one hand and gun it plumb with the other.Every tool has its purpose.Bob

5. 
   Tom_Moller | Jul 06, 2001 06:15am | #9

   *That fast setting concrete is expensive. If this is a weekender project (posts this week. rails next week. etc.) the regular stuff sets up plenty soon enough.

6. 
   Jefe_ | Jul 06, 2001 06:31am | #10

   *I'm not using concrete. I'll use crusher dust instead...tiny little flat pieces of rock that lock posts tight, yet allow water to drain. Up here on the Canadian prairies, they use this technique for 20' tall stop signs. Our soil is heavy clay, and the frost line is WAY deep...posts set in concrete either pop out of the ground, or the concrete crumbles after a couple of winters of freeze/thaw. I guess I'm wondering how to hold a post plumb and straight, while shoveling in the crusher dust to fill the hole...rent a third arm?

7. 
   Pro-Dek | Jul 06, 2001 06:47am | #11

   *Jefe- Get one of those chintzy 2 sided post levels-seriously-it frees up the other hand. Bob

8. 
   Stray_ | Jul 06, 2001 02:50pm | #12

   *Helped a friend build his pole barn a few weeks ago. Instead of getting one of those "Chinsy" $60 corner levels, we took 2 standard 3' or 4' mason levels and duct-taped one on each plane of the post (these posts were 8"X8"X15'). The tape was quick, hands free leveling, and we could just unwerap and re-use the tape for a few posts. $0.99 worth of tape instead of $60. But then again I'm a cheap bastard....

9. 
   James_DuHamel | Jul 06, 2001 06:55pm | #13

   *Not all of the "Chintzy" post levels cost $60I got mine for a birthday present a couple of years ago, and it is a very, very nice one. It is aluminum, and can be slipped apart and used as a torpedo type level also. It has a place to hook a string level on so that you can stretch the string across several posts. It also uses two velcro straps instead of rubber bands. My brother probably paid too much for it, but it was the thought that counts anyway. I also have two of the el cheapo post levels. I use them a lot. I think they came as a pair, and cost less than $20. I see them all the time for about $10 each.James DuHamel

10. 
    Luka_ | Jul 07, 2001 02:08am | #14

    *Use a really really really big hammer.Ask Nathan Wegemer if you can use his.

11. 
    JonC_ | Jul 07, 2001 02:41am | #15

    *Jefe,Dont listen to Pro or James. They are trying to lure you to the "dark side" and get you to start collecting weird little single purpose specialty tools. Once you start that, you're pretty much done for. If you really feel like you need to plumb a short piece of your fence post in 2 planes simultaniously, get 2- 10" stabila torpedo levels and a rubber band.You're over thinking this. You're not gonna get any of those "straight" posts Dave mentioned, but use your straightest ones on your ends and corners. Pile up some of your fill around the holes and when you think you've got the post where you want it, kick enough fill into the hole to hold the post upright but not so much that you cant wiggle it around. Fill, wiggle to plumb, tamp and repeat as necessary.Stray, for pole buildings here, I hang a plumb off the outsides of the corner posts, set them, string top and bottom lines, mark the centers on the bottom line and install the remainder of the poles just as Splinter said she does her fences. (I do fences that way too but she explained it better)JonC

12. 
    Jefe_ | Jul 07, 2001 05:14am | #16

    *OVER-thinking? I've been accused of many things, but never thinking too much. Thanks, I guess! :)By the way, thanks all for the tips.

13. 
    Phill_Giles | Jul 07, 2001 07:31am | #17

    *one-person fence-post settingtwo saw-horses, set on either side of the hole about 7' apart (distance not critical) with the tops of the horses parallel to the fence's run; clamp a 2x4 to the two horses so that it's at right-angles to the run of the fence (eye-ball is close enough) and bump it so that one edge is at the correct distance from the last post; put in your base material as noted in previous posts and place the post in the hole; use a bubble-level (about $5, held on with elastic bands, and the finshed product is close enough) to plumb the post and then clamp the post to the 2x4; eyeball the line, and/or use a string-line to ensure your post is in-line; fill in around the post, checking plumb at 1/3 full, 2/3 full, and full before tamping, I use standard sacrete mix, but dry, sometimes I add extra aggregate; tamp down the concrete mix hard as though you were using straight fill; dress the top of the fill with a little parge if you want to get fancy.

14. 
    Mike_Willms | Jul 08, 2001 09:53pm | #18

    *It's really not all that difficult to set a post with gravel (or dry sacrete) by yourself. Once you establish where the bottom of the post needs to sit when aligned, let the post lean against the side of the hole and throw in a few shovel fulls of fill. Stand the post back up into place and fill/tamp the rest of the way up checking for level every so often. It's much easier than you might think.

15. 
    Luka_ | Jul 08, 2001 10:01pm | #19

    *i It's much easier than you might think. This is actualy true, Jefe.I filled that humongous hole I had to put my power pole into, with gravel, no dirt, no concrete. I used a really old driveshaft to tamp the gravel with. (I really beat the heck out of the gravel as I put it in, so it may almost qualify as concrete. LOL)I carried the gravel up the hill in 5 gallon buckets, to get to the hole. After the first 8 or 9 buckets, the pole was standing on it's own. I never used a brace. Just shoved the pole back and forth by hand as I stamped the gravel in there.

16. 
    Pro-Dek | Jul 10, 2001 06:45am | #20

    *OK Jon-What's wrong with collecting wierd single purpose specialty tools? Who said they're single purpose? That $5.80 plastic post level works for rail posts,arbor posts,beam support posts,and fence posts and costs a lot less than two Stabila torpedo levels. You could even stap it to your leg to see if you're on the level.May the force be with you.hehe

17. 
    Mike_Gabriel | Jul 11, 2001 09:09am | #21

    *I just used my chintzy $5.99 HD post level thingy to set 9 support posts and 11 railing posts on a 550sf deck. Worked like a charm.Love it, although I do have a weakness for tools and gadgets. Cheap and functional RARELY come together.

2. 
   Jefe_ | Jul 11, 2001 09:09am | #22

   *
   About to set some 4x4 posts for a 6' fence - any techniques for setting straight plumb posts all by my lonesome?