"Rod" wrote in message
...
BigWallop wrote:
"dennis@home" wrote in message
...

"BigWallop" wrote in message
om...
snipped
I'll second this. And might I add, that you should also paint the
ends
of
wooden posts with liberal amounts of liquid bitumen, at least up to
ground
level. This helps prevent water penetration into the timber, so you
posts
last years and years longer than having them stuck in the ground with
no
protection.

If this PostCrete stuff is cheaper than making you own Sand Cement
Ballast
Mix, then go for it. But I always a good mix of the above never lets
me
down. I might give these new fangled things a try one day, if I feel
brave.
:-)

The stuff the OP is on about (IIRC) has a big advantage over mixing
your
own..
you dig a hole, drop the post in and fill it with the mix dry.
You pour in water and it sets in about 20 mins.
By the time you have had your tea break you can fit the panels.
I have used it and it is really good if you are in a hurry.


I can see the advantages in its use, but I think the old ways are still
best. Yes, I probably should get more "with it". :-)

We still dig the holes. Set the posts to the levels we want. Support
the
posts with timber struts. Fix the panels Etc. Make sure everything is
the
way it should be. Then we mix our batches and pour the 'Crete in the
holes.

Doing the posts individually takes forever. Isn't it best to build your
fence, then fix the posts in place at the end. Our fences, around the
several out-buildings we have had to create, are still standing after,
roughly, twenty years. The only things we've had to replace is the gate
hinges and a few padlocks.

Ah well. Each tae thir ane, as they say.


I see the question as highly dependent on numbers.

For one or two posts it is much easier and cheaper to get a bag of
postcrete. After all, by the time you have bought a bag of cement, let
alone the ballast, it has cost as much.

For a few more, it is probably considerably cheaper to mix your own.

For lots, maybe the labour of mixing, or cost of a mixer, outweighs the
extra cost? And there might be a discount on a quantity purchase.

Having materials lying around (effectively free), or going to waste
because they are surplus, are significant factors in choosing.

Rod


The end quality should also be considered, in any kind of job. If you have
the time to maintain the work after installation, then, by all means, go
with the flow. If you fit and forget, then it's always best to take the
time, and maybe spend just a little more, to do the thing properly so it
lasts.

I notice that a lot of confidence is now put into these newer products, but
do they do the job to last the rigors of time? If they are meant for the
quick DIYer to make it look pretty in a short space of time, will the job
actually last the full lifetime guarantee period?

I personally hate the quick fix mentality that has been forced into the DIY
market. A proper job, to me in any case, is one where the installation is
still there, and still looking as good as when it was installed, when I pass
by in ten or twenty years time.

A coat of paint or tighten with a spanner to keep it looking good, is all it
should need. Most DIY Stores now sell ready made mixtures of most products,
and at a much cheaper cost. I have seen half bags of sand and cement for,
literally, pennies, and small bags of ballast gravel to mix with them at a
couple of quid a bag.

I'm not the type to go back and forth to maintain things. It takes a major
disaster to destroy anything I install. So the job should be done properly,
right from the design stage, before I will tackle it. Any job can be done
with a little thought before hands-on. Most DIYers will tackle a job with
great gusto at the start, then find that a little bit of preparation would
have done the work quicker, and sometimes cheaper, if they had looked before
going ahead.

Once your fence posts are fixed, that should be them finished. If you have
to make adjustments after you have poured the ballast, then you are making
the job weaker than it could / should have been. That goes for one or many
posts. If you make fencing without fixing the posts first, any adjustments
can be sorted before the posts are fixed in their final positions.

Leveling and straightening should all be done without the posts being fixed.
Holding the posts in place with small battens of timber, or metal struts,
then fixing your filler panels, or whatever, in between, allows you to make
all the small adjustments that make the fence look great. Once everything
is in place, then you make your mix and fix your posts in their final
positions.

If you want to use PostCrete to fix the posts in their final positions, then
all good and well. But, in my opinion, don't fix the posts until you know
the fence is going to look the part, and is going to last the years you want
it to.

But that's just me. :-) Rant over. LOL