On Mar 23, 10:16 am, "RicodJour" wrote:
DominicSantini wrote:
Planning on putting up a fence (for privacy barrier
purposes - along with some new trees, etc).

Spoke to some local fence companies. They appear to
have different methods of installing the posts.

No surprise there.

One outfit made a big deal they install their posts
approx 10' into the ground.

I'd make a big deal that they're full of ****. There could be no
possible reason to dig so deep. In fact, I don't know how you'd even
dig a small hole that deep without core-drilling equipment used for
taking soil samples, and believe me, they're not doing that.

Another outfit, only goes a few feet (6 ? I forget).

Okay, now it's clear that it's _your_ recollection that is faulty.
You didn't say what type of fence it is, but _nobody_ sinks a fence
post deeper than 3' or 4'. Most fence posts are sunk 2' - 3'
depending on conditions.

In my experience you are correct about the depth of fence posts. I am
also in agreement with the general tone of your post. There is a small
possiblity, however, that the OP lives in a place has very unstable
sandy soil or hurricane prone area. Possible but unlikely
considering that OP has not returned to his post.

I will point out, however, that it is not necessary to dig holes at
all to place the posts. Without digging one bit, it is possible to
use a hydraulic post pounder or pile driver. Road crews use them to
place posts in the ground for guard rails. Very often poles are set
with no hole or with minimal holes with the use of this heavy
equipment. A pounded post is supposed to be much, much, stronger than
an equivalent post that is only backfilled whether with dirt or
concrete.

The reason I know this is because I am actually looking into a post
pounder for my fence project. It will fit on my Bobcat skidsteer and
looks to be quite a labor saver. It will pound any kind of post from
steel to wood. In my case I plan to auger undersized holes and then
pound them. My shoulder injury prevents me form pounding posts by
hand.

It works best in soft ground obviously and you tend to shatter a few
posts when doing it. Some crews do it in any ground. It is done,
however, and saves a lot of time and work from what I can tell.

Not many people have one except road crews and fence contractors but
they are available in my area for rent and for sale. Some guys say
they will never use one since it is a bit dangerous pounding on wooden
posts. When one splinters yu don't want to be nearby.