On 17/03/2013 21:38, imanc wrote:
Hi,

I'm trying to erect a fence over the site of my house's previous back
yard wall.

it's a victorian terrace and most of the walls on the row have been
removed so people can park their cars in their back gardens. However
due to having dogs and no car, I need a fence.

The fence is being erected between two brick walls (about 11ft
distance), and I've already fixed two 3" thick fence posts to the brick
walls at either side. Now I need to insert two fence posts into the
ground which will be ~ 4.5 feet apart.

Two issues:

1) Getting through the brick foundation is proving extremely challenging
using a cold chisel and standard hammer drill. I've managed to remove
two bricks from one of the holes, and have produced a ~7inch hole. I'm
trying to get at least an 18" hole, so the posts can be rock solid.

If there is car access, there is access for a small digger, which will
be a lot less work.

2) Gas, electric, cable lines come in at the front of the house, but
there's still sewars and water lines probably entering at the back
(water meter is in back yard outhouse and there's a man hole in the back
yard). I'm wary of hitting anything. How can I find out where these
services reside and how deep they are?

Open the manhole and look which way the drains run. You could also ask
the utilities if their maps show where they enter the property.

There's going to be 4 fence posts and two of those are firmly affixed to
the brick walls at either side, so only two posts need to be stuck into
the ground. I'm planning to use arris rails and vertical feather edge
boards, and I'm wondering if fence posts postcreted into shallow 8"
holes could be strong enough given the posts are close together and
close to wall anchored posts. Or is this asking for trouble?

Fence posts should be 1/3 underground and 2/3 above ground, so 8" would
be OK for a 16" high fence. If you want the fence to last, use concrete
posts and concrete gravel boards.

Personally, I would use the existing foundations as the base for a new wall.

Colin Bignell