"Goedjn" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 19:57:58 -0700, "Ook" Ook Don't send me any
freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the Don't send me any freakin'
spam wrote:

At Home Depot today I saw these fence post holders that you pound into the
ground. They go 30.5 inches deep, and taper from about an inch across at
the
bottom to 4 inches across at the top. A 4x4 post is held onto the top by a
bracket that appears to be about 5 inches deep.

My concerns:
1) The width of the thing is only 4 inches at the top. Is this wide enough
to not tilt or lean over when you put a 6 foot tall fence, spaced at 8
feet?
2) The entire weight of the fence is held by the 4x4 post sitting in a
bracket that is only 5-6 inches tall, or in other words any lateral force
applied to the post due to wind shear, kids climbing on the fence, etc. is
supported by the end of the post in this bracket - it just doesn't seem to
me to be strong enough.

Anyone ever used these, have any comments about them? Are they strong
enough
to support a 6 foot tall wood fence with posts at 8 feet intervals?


Probably.
It should hold anything that a 4x4 post driven 30 inches into the
ground would. If it fails it will be either the entire bracket
tilting in the dirt, or the post snapping off above the bracket.
The post-to-bracket connection isn't going anywhere.


What about the post snapping off above the bracket? Is this a real danger?
Or rather, the post coming loose in the bracket? It's a pinch bracket, no
holes actually get drilled in the post. It would have to squeeze the post
pretty tight to hold it in place. There is going to be a lot of pressure at
that point, but a 4x4 is pretty strong. OTOH, there is only 4-6 inches of
post in the bracket, instead of 2+ feet of post in a hole. I have no
experience with this thing, so not sure how well it would work. Mail box,
yes, 2 foot picket fence, sure, 6 foot fence? Hmm.

Oh, and any suggestions on how to drive them into the ground and have them
end up level? It would not take much to end up with posts that lean. I'm
tempted to pick up a half dozen and see how they work. If they do, great, I
saved a lot of trouble. If they don't, I've wasted 80 bucks or so - these
things are not cheap