I know I'm beating a dead dog here, but I find myself unclear about the
pros/cons of setting fence posts in dirt, gravel, or concrete. More
specifically, I'm undecided about which way to go. I need some input from
those who have done this. I'm mostly interested in what is strong and what
will last the longest. I don't want to have to dig them all out 10 years
from now and be stuck with these big concrete chunks.

Dirt: easiest to do, may not be the strongest. It rains a lot here, 9 months
out of the year, so I'm concerned about the constant contact with wet soil.

Gravel. Some recently suggested. Cheaper and easier then concrete, gravel
drains water from post. Stronger then just dirt, post may last longer.
Gravel drains water from post.

Concrete. More work. Strongest. Post in contact with concrete may still rot
out in 10 years. Difficult to replace.

Just had to replace a lamp post that broke from wind shear. I think it
was original to the house, 1966. Had to hire someone to replace it for
a cost of about $500 because it had to be dug out of the huge concrete
chunk it was sitting in, and said chunk had to be broken into removal
bits. A real pain. On the other hand, apparently it had lasted forty
years. I had the new one set in concrete (with a piece of PVC pipe to
protect the electric line so that we didn't have to worry about cutting
the power line if we had to break into the concrete again, ever).

Concrete is obviousl a major PITA to replace, but how long do they last
today? In 1966 they used better preservative, and posts would last 50 years.
What can I do to my posts today to get at least a couple of decades out of
it?

"Inquiringmind" wrote in message
ups.com...
Just had to replace a lamp post that broke from wind shear. I think it
was original to the house, 1966. Had to hire someone to replace it for
a cost of about $500 because it had to be dug out of the huge concrete
chunk it was sitting in, and said chunk had to be broken into removal
bits. A real pain. On the other hand, apparently it had lasted forty
years. I had the new one set in concrete (with a piece of PVC pipe to
protect the electric line so that we didn't have to worry about cutting
the power line if we had to break into the concrete again, ever).

Ook wrote:
Concrete is obviousl a major PITA to replace, but how long do they last
today? In 1966 they used better preservative, and posts would last 50 years.
What can I do to my posts today to get at least a couple of decades out of
it?


I don't know how long modern wood posts would last. But it's gotta be
easier and cheaper to put screws/nails into wood than, say, a cast iron
pipe. And it's easier than putting a stainless steel achor bolt
into the top of a cast iron pipe filled with concrete onto which you
could hang your fence wood.

But if you go that way, let us know how it works out. It might look
cool.

wrote in message
ups.com...

Ook wrote:
Concrete is obviousl a major PITA to replace, but how long do they last
today? In 1966 they used better preservative, and posts would last 50
years.
What can I do to my posts today to get at least a couple of decades out
of
it?


I don't know how long modern wood posts would last. But it's gotta be
easier and cheaper to put screws/nails into wood than, say, a cast iron
pipe. And it's easier than putting a stainless steel achor bolt
into the top of a cast iron pipe filled with concrete onto which you
could hang your fence wood.

But if you go that way, let us know how it works out. It might look
cool.


I was at the Oregon State Fair yesterday, and one vendor had a system where
you pour your concrete plug into the ground and have a square concrete post
coming up a few inches out of the ground. Fence post gets bolted to that.
Fence post never touches the ground. If fence post rots away, you unbolt it
and bolt a new one in it's place. I'd be interested in doing this if I could
find instructions and parts.

Ook wrote:

Concrete. More work. Strongest. Post in contact with concrete may still rot
out in 10 years. Difficult to replace.

concrete of not the wood is going to get wet

get a bucket of drivesealer, mix some kerosene with it
dip the bottom of the post in it, stack them let them dry...
repeat a few times...

set them in dirt, dirt will settle rilltight

but you haven't said what the application is, or what is going to be
hanging on the poastseseseseseseseseses

it matters not really, you stick two feet in the ground they won't
fall..
you treat the bottoms LIKE I TOLD YOU
they will outlive you

WHATEVER YOU DO RENT AN AUGER

ok, since you're forgoing concrete rent the auger

personally I think you should keep talking about it for a few more days

G --- that's a grin

lastly don't listen to ricdejour he's full of bologna sammiches, really
he is

I was at the Oregon State Fair yesterday, and one vendor had a system where
you pour your concrete plug into the ground and have a square concrete post
coming up a few inches out of the ground. Fence post gets bolted to that.
Fence post never touches the ground. If fence post rots away, you unbolt it
and bolt a new one in it's place. I'd be interested in doing this if I could
find instructions and parts.

Just remember that the bottom of your fence post needs to have a lot of
bending strength to resist a wind storm. So if the connection at the
base will break at near the same loading level that the post will break
at, you might have something worthwhile.

Do you have a link to the hardware in question?

Ook wrote:
I know I'm beating a dead dog here, but I find myself unclear about
the pros/cons of setting fence posts in dirt, gravel, or concrete.
More specifically, I'm undecided about which way to go. I need some
input from those who have done this. I'm mostly interested in what is
strong and what will last the longest. I don't want to have to dig
them all out 10 years from now and be stuck with these big concrete
chunks.
Dirt: easiest to do, may not be the strongest. It rains a lot here, 9
months out of the year, so I'm concerned about the constant contact
with wet soil.
Gravel. Some recently suggested. Cheaper and easier then concrete,
gravel drains water from post. Stronger then just dirt, post may last
longer. Gravel drains water from post.

Concrete. More work. Strongest. Post in contact with concrete may
still rot out in 10 years. Difficult to replace.

Metal posts in concrete will last indefinitely (or 75 years, whichever comes
first). Mine have lasted 42 years and they make even better metal posts
today than they did in the '60s.

1. Dig hole (it can be a lot smaller than if you were using 4x4).
2. Put a rock in bottom.
3. Set post in hole - make it straight.
4. Fill hole with water.
5. Slowly dump in a bag of concrete.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for each post.

but you haven't said what the application is, or what is going to be
hanging on the poastseseseseseseseseses

Wooden fence around my 2/3 acre property. Wood posts set 8 feet apart. Fence
will be 6 feet high. I'm thinking of a small support in the middle to
prevent sag, as most wooden fences I see sag in the middle of each run.

it matters not really, you stick two feet in the ground they won't
fall..
you treat the bottoms LIKE I TOLD YOU
they will outlive you

What is drivesealer? Driveway sealer? Why kerosene, and how much? Will this
work on pressure treated ground contact rated posts?


WHATEVER YOU DO RENT AN AUGER

High on my todo list. I'm going out today to stake the posts so I can get an
accurate count of how many posts.

personally I think you should keep talking about it for a few more days

I might - the more I discuss it, the more advice I get, the more I learn,
and eventually I'll know enough (or think I know enough) that I'll be ready
to actually get off of my butt and do something vbg --- Very Big Grin

personally I think you should keep talking about it for a few more days

Personally, I have learned tons from this newsgroup. Usenet may be fading
away, but there are still many vaulable newsgroups out there, like this one.
My thanks to everyone that has pitched in with comments. Keep them coming!

wrote:

I don't know how long modern wood posts would last. But it's gotta be
easier and cheaper to put screws/nails into wood than, say, a cast iron
pipe. And it's easier than putting a stainless steel achor bolt
into the top of a cast iron pipe filled with concrete onto which you
could hang your fence wood.

But if you go that way, let us know how it works out. It might look
cool.

As a follow-up, and not that I'm recommending anything, but I wonder
how that cheap sch 40 black plastic ABS pipe filled with concrete would
be as a fence post. I wonder if it'd be strong enough on it's own, of
if it'd need to have a little re-mesh inside before you fill it with
concrete.

Even if you don't paint it (and it's readily paintable), the carbon
black that they add to it is supposed to keep UV rays at bay.

Ook wrote:
Usenet may be fading
away

not if you ask me

google got on the usenet wagon, now google archives these q & a
sessions; thus: Google Groups
http://groups.google.com/

only difference google carries at the big 8 in the heiarchy, they also
allow a user to create their own group, where'as with usenet it's not
so easy to get a group started

I agree, it really is an "on time" source of help

how long has usenet been around anyway? since the days of 300 baud
modems?

"sosessyithurts" wrote in message
oups.com...

Ook wrote:
Usenet may be fading
away

not if you ask me

google got on the usenet wagon, now google archives these q & a
sessions; thus: Google Groups
http://groups.google.com/

only difference google carries at the big 8 in the heiarchy, they also
allow a user to create their own group, where'as with usenet it's not
so easy to get a group started

I agree, it really is an "on time" source of help

how long has usenet been around anyway? since the days of 300 baud
modems?


There are more newsgroups then there have ever been, but a lot of popular
groups I used to frequent have died. I wonder if there are any usage stats
out there? I'd like to see some historical numbers that are probalby more
accurate then my opinion.

I didn't discover usenet until I upgraded to a 2400 modem. I think I still
have a couple 300 baud modems lying around. I used to use a 2400 modem built
for a commodore 64. I built an RS232 interface from Radio Shack parts and
hooked it up to my PC/XT. Worked great :P

"sosessyithurts" wrote in message
oups.com...

Ook wrote:
Usenet may be fading
away

not if you ask me

google got on the usenet wagon, now google archives these q & a
sessions; thus: Google Groups
http://groups.google.com/

only difference google carries at the big 8 in the heiarchy, they also
allow a user to create their own group, where'as with usenet it's not
so easy to get a group started

I agree, it really is an "on time" source of help

how long has usenet been around anyway? since the days of 300 baud
modems?


PS. Tell me more about "drivesealer" that you recommend using on the posts.

Ook wrote:

PS. Tell me more about "drivesealer" that you recommend using on the posts.

that's what we used to treat a horse fence, it came reccommended by a
fella who raises cyldesdales

you thin it with kerosene in order to make it soak in better, about 1/2
and 1/2

it's no different than railway ties, you know, the black railroad ties
you can find laying around

driveseal oppossed to watersealer, I can't see water sealer lasting
more than a few years before it loses its properties

---

extensiive usenet statistics
http://www.livinginternet.com/u/ua_old.htm

"sosessyithurts" wrote in message
oups.com...

Ook wrote:

PS. Tell me more about "drivesealer" that you recommend using on the
posts.

that's what we used to treat a horse fence, it came reccommended by a
fella who raises cyldesdales

you thin it with kerosene in order to make it soak in better, about 1/2
and 1/2

it's no different than railway ties, you know, the black railroad ties
you can find laying around

driveseal oppossed to watersealer, I can't see water sealer lasting
more than a few years before it loses its properties

---

I found it. Driveway sealer. Driveway and paving sealer. Know of any
suppliers in the US for this stuff? A brief romp through the Internet showed
it readily available in the UK, NZ, Australia, etc. Or can any good driveway
sealer work?

"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...

Ook wrote:
Concrete is obviousl a major PITA to replace, but how long do they last
today? In 1966 they used better preservative, and posts would last 50
years.
What can I do to my posts today to get at least a couple of decades out
of
it?


I don't know how long modern wood posts would last. But it's gotta be
easier and cheaper to put screws/nails into wood than, say, a cast iron
pipe. And it's easier than putting a stainless steel achor bolt
into the top of a cast iron pipe filled with concrete onto which you
could hang your fence wood.

But if you go that way, let us know how it works out. It might look
cool.


I was at the Oregon State Fair yesterday, and one vendor had a system
where you pour your concrete plug into the ground and have a square
concrete post coming up a few inches out of the ground. Fence post gets
bolted to that. Fence post never touches the ground. If fence post rots
away, you unbolt it and bolt a new one in it's place. I'd be interested in
doing this if I could find instructions and parts.

I have used the steel anchors that are designed to be pounded into the
ground, but I set them into concrete. You can replace the posts if the
bottom rots, and if you keep the steel painted. When installing, take extra
care to keep them level because a slight angle can create a crooked post.

Ook wrote:

I found it. Driveway sealer. Driveway and paving sealer. Know of any
suppliers in the US for this stuff? A brief romp through the Internet showed
it readily available in the UK, NZ, Australia, etc. Or can any good driveway
sealer work?

oh sure, any home-depot, lowes, ace hardware...

do you have a local DIY home shop? they mighit have it too..
of course if it's cold out.. it will go on a tad thicker and soak in a
tad slower

maybe add your city and state to your search terms

In article ,
Ook Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote:
I know I'm beating a dead dog here, but I find myself unclear about the
pros/cons of setting fence posts in dirt, gravel, or concrete. More
specifically, I'm undecided about which way to go. I need some input from
those who have done this. I'm mostly interested in what is strong and what
will last the longest. I don't want to have to dig them all out 10 years
from now and be stuck with these big concrete chunks.
...snipped...

Different types of soil and climate may produce different results.
That said, my experience in the Baltimore Md area, is that a CCA PT
4X4 will last AT LEADT 20 years directly in the ground, and in fact at
this age they appear to have plenty of life left. (I recently pulled
some up that were about 20 years old; I needed to set new, deeper
posts because I was replacing a 4 ft fence with a 6 foot fence.)

In fact, the posts will outlast 2 or 3 sets of cedar pickets. The soil
that these posts were set in is soft for the first 8 inches or so,
then becomes pretty hard, hitting clay at about 2 feet down. I put a
few inches of gravel in the bottom of each hole. YMMV. I've seen lots
of recommendations to avoid setting posts in concrete, claiming they
would rot faster than when set directly in soil. Whethere that's true
or not, I don't know, but with the life of a typical PT post set
directly in the ground, it certainly is not necessary.




--

Larry Wasserman Baltimore, Maryland

Ook wrote:
I know I'm beating a dead dog here, but I find myself unclear about the
pros/cons of setting fence posts in dirt, gravel, or concrete. More
specifically, I'm undecided about which way to go. I need some input from
those who have done this. I'm mostly interested in what is strong and what
will last the longest. I don't want to have to dig them all out 10 years
from now and be stuck with these big concrete chunks.

Dirt: easiest to do, may not be the strongest. It rains a lot here, 9 months
out of the year, so I'm concerned about the constant contact with wet soil.

Gravel. Some recently suggested. Cheaper and easier then concrete, gravel
drains water from post. Stronger then just dirt, post may last longer.
Gravel drains water from post.

Concrete. More work. Strongest. Post in contact with concrete may still rot
out in 10 years. Difficult to replace.

Lots of great ideas here, but here's a couple more. In the countryside
around here we have the occasional redwood fence posts with barbed
wire. Redwood lasts a very long time, but the reason they still stand
is due not to concrete but shale that's driven alongside the footer.
When I reconstructed a fence along part of our property, I pulled out a
couple misplaced treated 4x4 posts, and the part that was in the ground
was as good as new. 40%copper pressure treated posts last a long time,
and look better than steel or vinyl posts, in my opinion. I agree that
concrete is so permanent to be a nuisance around the property. But, it
does hold posts well and the post won't rot if the very bottom isn't
sitting in a bucket of water soaked concrete. I didn't want to spend
too much money on concrete, so I combined the pounding of shale and
other flat rocks at the foot to make the post tight, and then at the
top of the whole, I filled in a bit of concrete and mounded it a little
so that dripping rain drains away from the post. Posts can support
each other, so I used galvanized metal brackets to hold the cross
supports between each pair of posts (set 8 feet apart), 2x4s set on
edge, rather than flat, so that I wouldn't have the saggy look so
common on fences in my area. These cross supports were 10%copper
pressure treated posts, cheap and available at Home Depot, so I used 3
cross supports, rather than two. The top plate connecting across posts
were 20ft long 2x6 redwood, and the visible lumber used was carefully
sorted for heartwood 7/8"x5 redwood planks found also at Home Depot. I
cut off the dog ears and put the edges under the overhang of the top
plate. I drilled and used screws, not nails, which takes a little
longer to put up, but results in fewer split boards and an overall
stronger fence. Along the bottom at dirt level, I linked posts with
1x12 redwood as a kickplate, filling whatever holes with spare rocks to
keep the dogs in the yard. Later, I decided that the southern exposure
of the fence would look good with grape vines, but I wanted to make
sure the fence would suffer from the extra weight, so I drove 2x2 grape
stakes every 4 feet, and anchored with screws to the existing fence at
the post, and half-way between, and then put half-way up and just under
the top plate, horizontal 2x2s to tie across and create an easy access
trellis to tie on the vines, which are spaced every 4'. Ultimately,
because the vines are away from the wood, and well pruned of foilage
and excess wood in winter, they will actually provide additional wind
resistence for the fence by their root strength. In summer, the
foliage shades the wood, reducing exposure to the harmful effects of UV
rays that will over many years will split up even good redwood
planking. Anyway, this is the story of a 100' section of fencing on my
property. Incidentally, I like the grey color of weathered redwood, so
I wouldn't bother to stain or paint the fence. I don't want the extra
maintenance.

here in london u.k. we have things called met posts. metal spikes that you
bolt the post into. they seem to work fine for me.
see illustration
http://www.fencingtrade.co.uk/acatalog/Kwik_Posts.html

"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message
...
Usenet may be fading away

It is?

On 1 Sep 2006 09:40:11 -0700, "Inquiringmind"
wrote:

Just had to replace a lamp post that broke from wind shear. I think it
was original to the house, 1966. Had to hire someone to replace it for
a cost of about $500 because it had to be dug out of the huge concrete
chunk it was sitting in, and said chunk had to be broken into removal
bits. A real pain. On the other hand, apparently it had lasted forty
years. I had the new one set in concrete (with a piece of PVC pipe to
protect the electric line so that we didn't have to worry about cutting
the power line if we had to break into the concrete again, ever).

They sell some square metal things that set into concrete and are made
to fit a common 4x4 post. That way the posts can be replaced without
digging. If you dont use something like this, I'd just fill the hole
with the dirt. Thats all I did on my pole barn, which takes a lot
more abuse than a fence.

On Sat, 02 Sep 2006 13:06:07 GMT, "jeffc" wrote:


"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message
...
Usenet may be fading away

It is?

Sure is. I've lived in my house for 20 years- and I've been on Usenet
for 11. I hope I live to be 100 so I can see whether the road out
front goes 4-lane, or Usenet dies first. Both have been 'imminent'
since I've known them.

Jim
[I had to search googlegroups for "death of usenet" -- It was being
predicted in 1985-
http://groups.google.com/group/net.n...c09956ca0e173d

Joked about as "the imminent death of Usenet" by 1989-
http://groups.google.com/group/news....a511a8f54861ce
and became the acronym IDOUP by the end of the year
http://groups.google.com/group/news....5 f11a549be06

On 1 Sep 2006 12:57:05 -0700, wrote:


wrote:

I don't know how long modern wood posts would last. But it's gotta be
easier and cheaper to put screws/nails into wood than, say, a cast iron
pipe. And it's easier than putting a stainless steel achor bolt
into the top of a cast iron pipe filled with concrete onto which you
could hang your fence wood.

But if you go that way, let us know how it works out. It might look
cool.

As a follow-up, and not that I'm recommending anything, but I wonder
how that cheap sch 40 black plastic ABS pipe filled with concrete would
be as a fence post. I wonder if it'd be strong enough on it's own, of
if it'd need to have a little re-mesh inside before you fill it with
concrete.

Even if you don't paint it (and it's readily paintable), the carbon
black that they add to it is supposed to keep UV rays at bay.


Why not just make the fence-post out of concrete, at that point?
(or buy pre-made concrete fence posts.)

Jim Elbrecht wrote:

It is?

Sure is. I've lived in my house for 20 years- and I've been on Usenet
for 11. I hope I live to be 100 so I can see whether the road out
front goes 4-lane, or Usenet dies first. Both have been 'imminent'
since I've known them.

so why did google get on the wagon?

why does any decent isp even have a news server

my guess is that usage is up!
up because more are learning about it

usenet started when most people didn't even own a computer, how can it
be fading?

you should post some statistics...

if you're referring to the old days and you don't see the familiar
names you used to... that's one thing.. that's not fading, those people
just died! lmao
'
post some stats!

Ook,

FWIW, on an old episode of This Old House they buried composite post
"anchors" in the ground, which in turn had a PVC sleeve inserted into them
along with a 1" diameter piece of rebar that was long enough to stick up
above ground level. Each wooden fence post had a hole bored into its end and
was placed over the top of the protruding rebar. This way the posts were
never in contact with the ground.

When I tried to find out further information about these composite post
"anchors", all that I could turn up was that Walpole Woodworkers had
something to do with them. Not much info on their website and I never did
get around to actually visiting one of their locations to see if these items
were available.

It seems like a viable system to me. If so, it may help put an end to the
constant debate of whether or not to use cement when installing fence posts.

Anyone else, have any info on these? Please post it here for all to share.
TIA. HTH.

Peter.

"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message
...
I know I'm beating a dead dog here, but I find myself unclear about the
pros/cons of setting fence posts in dirt, gravel, or concrete. More
specifically, I'm undecided about which way to go. I need some input from
those who have done this. I'm mostly interested in what is strong and what
will last the longest. I don't want to have to dig them all out 10 years
from now and be stuck with these big concrete chunks.

Dirt: easiest to do, may not be the strongest. It rains a lot here, 9
months out of the year, so I'm concerned about the constant contact with
wet soil.

Gravel. Some recently suggested. Cheaper and easier then concrete, gravel
drains water from post. Stronger then just dirt, post may last longer.
Gravel drains water from post.

Concrete. More work. Strongest. Post in contact with concrete may still
rot out in 10 years. Difficult to replace.

"jeffc" wrote in message
...

"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message
...
Usenet may be fading away

It is?

It is. I think the younger generation is not as usenet savvy as some of
use...older...folks.

How old are people here? I'm 46 and been online for about 22 years since I
bought a 300 baud modem and discovered BBS's.

Ook wrote:

How old are people here? I'm 46 and been online for about 22 years since I
bought a 300 baud modem and discovered BBS's.

damn your old

im only 8 years old, what is a bbs?

are you going to build you fence today? You are going to get tired
quick.

"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message
...


It is. I think the younger generation is not as usenet savvy as some of
use...older...folks.

How old are people here? I'm 46 and been online for about 22 years since I
bought a 300 baud modem and discovered BBS's.

Anyone who's been around this newsgroup for a while would remember when a
thread like this one (the original thread - about fence posts) would have
gotten a very authoritative response from Bikerbabe in Black Leather, which
would then have brought on a response from some clueless n00bie entertaining
the rest of us with something like "Hey Bikerbabe. I can tell you're my
type. Maybe we could get together for a couple drinks, followed by Bikerbabe
saying "I really don't think I'm your type." and then a few more posts
debating the point. Yes ... those were the days.

Go with the concrete, but use a pole liner, a sleeve that the pole
slides into so the pole can be replaced. home depot actualy sells some
of these blocks already pored for certain size poles or with a clamp
for a 4x4 if you are using wood posts.

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Ook wrote:
I know I'm beating a dead dog here, but I find myself unclear about the
pros/cons of setting fence posts in dirt, gravel, or concrete. More
specifically, I'm undecided about which way to go. I need some input from
those who have done this. I'm mostly interested in what is strong and what
will last the longest. I don't want to have to dig them all out 10 years
from now and be stuck with these big concrete chunks.

Dirt: easiest to do, may not be the strongest. It rains a lot here, 9 months
out of the year, so I'm concerned about the constant contact with wet soil.

Gravel. Some recently suggested. Cheaper and easier then concrete, gravel
drains water from post. Stronger then just dirt, post may last longer.
Gravel drains water from post.

Concrete. More work. Strongest. Post in contact with concrete may still rot
out in 10 years. Difficult to replace.

Ook wrote:

I know I'm beating a dead dog here, but I find myself unclear about the
pros/cons of setting fence posts in dirt, gravel, or concrete. More
specifically, I'm undecided about which way to go. I need some input from
those who have done this. I'm mostly interested in what is strong and what
will last the longest. I don't want to have to dig them all out 10 years
from now and be stuck with these big concrete chunks.

Dirt: easiest to do, may not be the strongest. It rains a lot here, 9 months
out of the year, so I'm concerned about the constant contact with wet soil.

Gravel. Some recently suggested. Cheaper and easier then concrete, gravel
drains water from post. Stronger then just dirt, post may last longer.
Gravel drains water from post.

Concrete. More work. Strongest. Post in contact with concrete may still rot
out in 10 years. Difficult to replace.



Hi,
I only use cedar or treated wood post. Gravel at bottom, pack with dirt
and make a dome around post at the top. Lasts LONG time.

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:fapKg.499071$iF6.378897@pd7tw2no...
Ook wrote:

I know I'm beating a dead dog here, but I find myself unclear about the
pros/cons of setting fence posts in dirt, gravel, or concrete. More
specifically, I'm undecided about which way to go. I need some input from
those who have done this. I'm mostly interested in what is strong and
what will last the longest. I don't want to have to dig them all out 10
years from now and be stuck with these big concrete chunks.

Dirt: easiest to do, may not be the strongest. It rains a lot here, 9
months out of the year, so I'm concerned about the constant contact with
wet soil.

Gravel. Some recently suggested. Cheaper and easier then concrete, gravel
drains water from post. Stronger then just dirt, post may last longer.
Gravel drains water from post.

Concrete. More work. Strongest. Post in contact with concrete may still
rot out in 10 years. Difficult to replace.

I only use cedar or treated wood post. Gravel at bottom, pack with dirt
and make a dome around post at the top. Lasts LONG time.

what percentage of the post is in the soil? 25%, 30% ??