Replies

1. 
   ccal | Sep 12, 2003 07:37pm | #1

   Depends a lot on where you are and your soil conditions.  If you dont want to use concrete you should at least fill with gravel. I always use concrete. An 8' post is plenty for a six foot fence here, but there is no freezing to worry about.

2. 
   TLJ | Sep 12, 2003 08:56pm | #2

   The part of the posts in the ground will be the first to rot off, of course, in concrete or not. Then you have to deal with the remaining concrete. Gravel or ag lime solidifies the posts, but is more easily removed when necessary. A soil that packs well is adequate for backfill. If you go that route, fill and tamp in stages.

3. 
   andybuildz | Sep 13, 2003 04:14am | #3

   Do not set it in concrete cause it will hold water between the post and the concrete.

   Use concrete only at the top base to keep it level.

   USe gravel in and around the hole to allow for drainoff. 2' in the ground is perfect!

   Be well

             andy

    The way we regard death is critical to the way we experiance life.

   When your fear of death changes, the way you live your life changes.

   http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM

4. 
   goldhiller | Sep 13, 2003 05:19am | #4

   I'd say much of the choice "depends".

   Is the style of the fence sections such that they will catch alot of wind?

   Do you have alot of wind to contend with in the area where the fence will be located?

   If so, I'd question that 2' post depth over the long haul, particularly if your soil conditions are like ours of mostly rich black topsoil to that depth.

   We usually set our fence posts here at 3' down for this type of fencing. Both setting on and tamped in with gravel, you'll have a nice tight post with good drainage and consequently a long life expectancy. This means you'll actually be digging deeper than 3' cause you want 4" or so of gravel underneath (tamped, of course). We then use a ten footer, and lop off the excess to reach final height. This is easy to do with a quickly made 3-sided jig from 2x stock that you slide on and clamp to the post. It allows you to cut from two sides of the post with your circular saw to create a nice flat result without resetting the jig.

   While lopping off a ten footer may seem wasteful, we always have plenty of uses for those blocks.

   Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
1. 
   Piffin | Sep 14, 2003 09:10pm | #5

   I agree definitely no concrete, and two feet into the ground is a minimum. I go three to four feet usually - that is, unless you want a "friendly fence" - one that waves at everybody in the wind.

   ;).

   Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   hasbeen | Sep 15, 2003 05:06am | #7

   Do you have alot of wind to contend with in the area where the fence will be located?

   Spoken like a true Goldhiller!

   When I lived over by Pinecliffe there was a windstorm that snapped off all the power poles on south Broadway in Boulder and left the whole works laying in the street.  The weather station in Wondervu recorded a 121 MPH gust.  The next gust blew it apart!Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.

1. 
   goldhiller | Sep 15, 2003 06:12am | #9

   I was there on North Broadway for a similar event. We (three of us) used operate the North Broadway Phillips 66 station. Wow, the winds that used to rattle that big plate glass window. Chased me out into the bays on more than one occasion to seek cover.

   Big wind day down there once that dislodged some large boulders which we happened to see as they tumbled down on the houses below. Crunch........right thru the roof and into the living room of an unsuspected resident. Saw the pics of it in the paper the next day. One of those boulders was the size a VW bug. Luckily no one was hurt. Maybe that's why they named the city......Boulder. Only it should have been........Watch Out! Boulder!

   Can't recall the exact location right now, but there was a geological survey station about 5 miles from us (as the crow flies) up there at Goldhill. They clocked the wind one winter night in excess of that 120! I didn't have much trouble beleiving it either. That log cabin was a rockin'! Felt like we were on a tempest tossed boat. We took shifts stayin' up to feed the stove lest we all freeze to death. Had those stoves choked down as tight as possible and still thought the things would melt right into the floor. The whole thing glowing orange and for all the world I'd swear it was sagging and losing its shape. That was one very sobering night that I'll never forget.

   I also discovered there in Goldhill that if it's cold enough, pee indeed WILL freeze before it hits the ground. Best to stay inside on those nights and discretely use a milk jug. Bare skin freezes rapidly under such conditions..if ya know what I mean. :-)

   Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.

1. 
   hasbeen | Sep 15, 2003 06:13pm | #14

   The storm I was referring to was in sometime in the winter of 79-80.  I was re-doing an old frame cabin in exchange for rent.  Had insulation in and plastic stapled to the walls, but no other wall covering.  As the wind howled a friend and I sat playing chess.  We kept hearing tiny pinging noises.  Couldn't figure out what we were hearing until a staple landed on the chess board.  Yup, it was blowing hard enough through the wall to push out staples and spit em across the room!  We joked about having to put lath up on the plastic to keep the wind from blowing the plastic off the inside of the walls...

   And people compain about it being windy where I live now.  I don't.Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.

2. 
   UncleDunc | Sep 15, 2003 06:49am | #10

   >> ... snapped off all the power poles on south Broadway in Boulder ...

   And they were big poles too, probably 16" diameter at ground level. They replaced them all with even bigger tubular steel, 24"+ diameter. The interesting thing to me was that the poles didn't break at ground level, but 10 or 12 feet up in the air.

   I don't remember if it was that same storm, but it was definitely that same winter that we had our living room window blow in. 4x8 picture window. Glass blew all the way across the room. My bedroom was on the same side of the house, and I took my mattress and slept the rest of the night in the basement.

   Do a search for "the giant sneezes" or see if you can get piffin to tell the story about the trailer on I-70.

1. 
   hasbeen | Sep 15, 2003 06:18pm | #15

   I hve friends who still live up on top of Flagstaff.  They've been there since 79 and have had their west windows blown in twice. 

   We get a lot of out-of-staters who buy land around here and say they want to build right on top of a hill to capture the incredible view...  I tell em to sleep out in a tent through a few fall storms before they decide to do that.  Of course, they think I'm crazy... Just how windy can it really be, after all.  ; )Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.

5. 
   TurtleBoy | Sep 15, 2003 04:41am | #6

   You may also wish to treat the section of post that will be in the hole. Try Coprenoil #10. Its green and can be used for times that will come in contact with the water. It has copper napthanate in it. You can get it at Sherwin Williams.

   Turtleboy

1. 
   JohnHens | Sep 15, 2003 08:05am | #11

   Do you mean treating the section that will be in the ground even though it is treated wood?

1. 
   TurtleBoy | Sep 15, 2003 04:41pm | #12

   I guess it wouldn't hurt to stain it again, but I had used it to stain some cedar that will be in contact with the ground. Good luck.

   Turtleboy

6. 
   hasbeen | Sep 15, 2003 05:07am | #8

   Are you talking treated wood posts?

   Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.

7. 
   CW | Sep 15, 2003 05:42pm | #13

   4' deep is good. cement is ok but when I need to install a post with a gate or just a fence that I want to be sturdy even if its standing alone, I always use concrete mix poured in dry.  If mixed it will shrink around post & there will be a wiggle in the cured result. Put in dry & just tamped in, the result is amazing because it takes a while for the ground moisture to turn it solid.  I have done this and used a pedestrian gate immediately with no effect on the end result.