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I’m soon to be building a privacy fence, and I am wanting to make my post bases out of Sonotubes, and simply bold the 4×4 post to that. However, all the post bases I can find say that they require support from the top, thereby not suitable for a fence. Does anyone have any experience with a job like this, and if so, a recommendation for a suitable post base bracket?? Thanks for the input…
Craig
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Replies
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Craig,
I don't understand why you wouldn't want to take advantage of the sonotubes and get a good percentage of the post length in the ground for necessary support. In this case, you would not need any brackets. Just using brackets the way you described would not make for a strong installation. I believe the fence would be flimsy, or would work loose over time.
*Craig, My experience with privacy fence building is limited to having put one up in the mid-80s in the central NC region where there is a whole lot of sand in the soil. I don't know where your're located but mixing my cement with the sand in a hole at least two ft deep, allowing it to cure with some natural rainfall and then erecting the cross 2x4 members and then the upright 1x6 members worked for me. Had to be sure that the posts were stable and secure tho' before putting a lot of weigth on them. All of the lumber was pressure treated. Now if your in the northeast, say upstate NY, the soil here has a lot less sand in it. I haven't put up any privacy fences here, but I have help to put up a wind break on a farm nearby while employed with a local builder. Our post holes for the 6x6s were 40 to 50 inches down, filled with a whole bag or two of portland cement and then covered with soil from the hole. For speed some holes were filled w/pre-mixed 'crete up to 20 or 30 inches. The wind break stands about 15 ft or so tall and for this it carries a lot of weigth and is long to boot. Hope this helps.
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Had planned on doing something similar with my gate posts - I had some 6"x8" posts and I bought some 3"x4" angle iron and was going to cut it to width of the post, drill two holes in each side of the angle and then bolt (or lag screw) them to the post so that the bottom of the angles sat about 1/2" below the bottom of the post. I bought some threaded "J" bolts (or mud-sill anchors)and was going to build a 2x4 frame with holes to space the J-bolts in the concrete the same as the holes in the bottom of the angles attached to the post. Then I was going to stick the 2x4 and J-bolt assembly into the concrete, letting enough of the bolts stick out to bolt on the angle-irons on the post. This is similar to the way many street light standards are installed. The reason for extending the angle iron slightly below the end of the post was to provide some clearance so that water would be less likely to wick up into the bottom of the post. You could do the same thing by putting a nut on the J-bolt at the level of the concrete to space things up. (The reason I used the past tense is that I found for cheap some 6" square steel tubing with flanges attached at my local scrap yard which can be installed in a similar manner with no modification required - sometimes, although rarely, one gets lucky.)
*I would have to agree with fellow Mad Dog. Out here in West Texas almost every city dwelling has a yard with a privacy fence. Here's how we do it out here. Usually after removing the old fence and posts, we layout the fence perimeter with a string line and with a can of paint mark the location of the fence posts. Holes are then dug to a depth of 24". Now the popular item out here are the galvanized metal posts. They are 2-3/8" diameter and 8' in length. These are then cemented in place lined up on the string line and plumb. After the cement has set up three stringer brackets are clamped to the post and spaced according to how far apart you want your stringers to be. I usually place the top stringer as close to the top of the picket as possible. This helps to keep the picket tops from warping in or out and will give the fence a straighter appearance. Next, three 2x4 stringers usually 8' long are attached to the post brackets with weather guard screws. Now you install one picket at each end of your run and attach a string line from top to top. You can now install the rest of your pickets either by attaching them with storm guard screws or you may shoot them with a pneumatic nailer and galvanized ring shank nails. The nice part of doing your job with the Metal posts and brackets is that in years to come when its time to replace your fence all you will have to replace is the pickets and stringers. You May think that the posts I described are the same as Chainlink posts but they are not. They are of a Much heavier gauge material. I hope this will be of some help to you. MDM.
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I'm soon to be building a privacy fence, and I am wanting to make my post bases out of Sonotubes, and simply bold the 4x4 post to that. However, all the post bases I can find say that they require support from the top, thereby not suitable for a fence. Does anyone have any experience with a job like this, and if so, a recommendation for a suitable post base bracket?? Thanks for the input...
Craig