On May 7, 10:17*am, RickH wrote:
On May 6, 9:51*pm, TimR wrote:

I need to put up a fence for our puppy.

I plan on 4x4 PT posts, 4 feet above ground, 2 feet below.

I'm getting conflicting advice on concrete vs gravel vs just tamp the
dirt really tight. *One expert even recommended concrete in buckets.
There seem to be several successful methods.

I want the posts to be removable eventually, for repair or moving the
fence area. *So if concreted in, I'd want them to not be stuck to
it.

* What do you think?

And yes, I know to call Miss Utility before digging.

Where do you live to be able to get away with only 2 feet in ground?
An easy way is:

1) dig post hole
2) insert post
3) plumb it with some stakes for support
4) add a bag of dry concrete to bottom of hole (yes dry)
5) backfill over the dry concrete with the clay from the post hole
6) compress it with your feet
7) water it a little (or wait for rain)

The concrete will set up well enough to hold the post firmly. *But it
will not set up so hard that you wont be able to easily crack it off
with a sledge hammer when you want to move the fence some day.

Now, that sounds like a lot less work than mixing and pouring. Sort
of a pozzolan approach. I think that would work. also it sounds
easier than gravel, which is heavy and would need a truck to
deliver.

I wonder about two things. It seems to me that if a square post fits
snugly in a square hole in concrete, it doesn't need to adhere.
Geometry would hold it tight. What if I oiled the posts first? Then
I could lift the posts out and leave the concrete in place, when I
move the fence.

Secondly, you have the concrete at the bottom of the hole. Seems to
me when a post gets loose it pivots at the bottom. A solid piece of
concrete at the top of the hole would give a second point of
constraint, and fix the post more firmly than one at the bottom.

Would you go with sandcrete or rockcrete?