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.

The issue of how to set fence posts has been discussed many times in
this group. My impression is the better advice was to not use
concrete, as it tends to hold moisture causing the wooden post to rot
faster. Instead you can set the post in the hole using crushed rock -
the stuff they make gravel driveways out of. You tamp it in and after
a while it kind of sets into a solid, but is still permeable. I set
my wooden posts that way when I put in my fence a few years ago, and
it worked fine, although after the first winter I had to do a little
straightening here and there. You can pull the posts back out pretty
easily (I have done it) and then you don't have big heavy lumps of
concrete embedded in your yard. About the gravel - don't use pea
gravel, you want the fine crushed stuff. Of course, all of this
depends somewhat on your climate conditions. In a warm dry place you
probably wouldn't have to worry about rot anyway.

All that being said, let me just say, it might be easier and better to
use chain link and the galvanized metal posts. The posts are just
driven in (easier than digging all those holes), can be pulled back
out, and they last a long time. The chain link part can also be
removed, rolled up and reinstalled elsewhere. When I put my wood
fence in, I first had to remove the chain link fence that was there -
and came away very impressed with it. It was at LEAST 20 years old,
in a harsh climate (Chicago) and was just fine. -- H