The fence post I thought was broken off near the bottom, under ground,
turns out to be broken off just above ground level.

The post still in the ground seems to have turned into dirt.

What do you all think about using my wet-dry vac to vacuum out the moist
dirt. Will I ruin the vac? Will I ruin the foam cover inside?

When I buy a new post, what do you think about my getting one 1/2" less
in diameter? Easier to put back in the hole?.



The post is about 4 1/2 " in diameter, but interestingly, the middle 3/4
to 1 inch is still made of wood. Below ground level (to a depth not yet
known) it's not dirt yet, and in the piece of the post that was standing
above ground level, it's different from its surroundings too.

micky wrote:
The fence post I thought was broken off near the bottom, under ground,
turns out to be broken off just above ground level.

The post still in the ground seems to have turned into dirt.

What do you all think about using my wet-dry vac to vacuum out the moist
dirt. Will I ruin the vac? Will I ruin the foam cover inside?

When I buy a new post, what do you think about my getting one 1/2" less
in diameter? Easier to put back in the hole?.



The post is about 4 1/2 " in diameter, but interestingly, the middle 3/4
to 1 inch is still made of wood. Below ground level (to a depth not yet
known) it's not dirt yet, and in the piece of the post that was standing
above ground level, it's different from its surroundings too.


Hi,
Rent an auger to dig them out. Wonder if vac. is powerful enough to suck
them out. I use car jack when I pull old fence post. Good luck.

On 8/14/2014 2:09 PM, micky wrote:
The fence post I thought was broken off near the bottom, under ground,
turns out to be broken off just above ground level.

The post still in the ground seems to have turned into dirt.

What do you all think about using my wet-dry vac to vacuum out the moist
dirt. Will I ruin the vac? Will I ruin the foam cover inside?

When I buy a new post, what do you think about my getting one 1/2" less
in diameter? Easier to put back in the hole?.



The post is about 4 1/2 " in diameter, but interestingly, the middle 3/4
to 1 inch is still made of wood. Below ground level (to a depth not yet
known) it's not dirt yet, and in the piece of the post that was standing
above ground level, it's different from its surroundings too.



What's the hole made of, concrete?
Otherwise, every homeowner should have a post hole digger.

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 14:09:51 -0400, micky
wrote:

The fence post I thought was broken off near the bottom, under ground,
turns out to be broken off just above ground level.


Okay.

The post still in the ground seems to have turned into dirt.

Drill a core in the at the top and check. Is it solid?

What do you all think about using my wet-dry vac to vacuum out the moist
dirt. Will I ruin the vac? Will I ruin the foam cover inside?

I'd use a water hose, driving water down along side the post, Flood
it, flex it and soften the soil around the post.

When I buy a new post, what do you think about my getting one 1/2" less
in diameter? Easier to put back in the hole?.

Why?

The post is about 4 1/2 " in diameter, but interestingly, the middle 3/4
to 1 inch is still made of wood. Below ground level (to a depth not yet
known) it's not dirt yet, and in the piece of the post that was standing
above ground level, it's different from its surroundings too.

Make the earth around the post soft with water. Jet the water along
one side, or two. That will help loosen the compacted soil around the
post.

Post a photo link here.

Oren wrote:
On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 14:09:51 -0400, micky
wrote:

The fence post I thought was broken off near the bottom, under ground,
turns out to be broken off just above ground level.


Okay.

The post still in the ground seems to have turned into dirt.

Drill a core in the at the top and check. Is it solid?

What do you all think about using my wet-dry vac to vacuum out the moist
dirt. Will I ruin the vac? Will I ruin the foam cover inside?

I'd use a water hose, driving water down along side the post, Flood
it, flex it and soften the soil around the post.

When I buy a new post, what do you think about my getting one 1/2" less
in diameter? Easier to put back in the hole?.

Why?

The post is about 4 1/2 " in diameter, but interestingly, the middle 3/4
to 1 inch is still made of wood. Below ground level (to a depth not yet
known) it's not dirt yet, and in the piece of the post that was standing
above ground level, it's different from its surroundings too.

Make the earth around the post soft with water. Jet the water along
one side, or two. That will help loosen the compacted soil around the
post.

Post a photo link here.

Hmm,
OP'er must be a young guy, this things he ought to know if he is an old
fart, LOL!

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 12:24:12 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:

micky wrote:
The fence post I thought was broken off near the bottom, under ground,
turns out to be broken off just above ground level.

The post still in the ground seems to have turned into dirt.

What do you all think about using my wet-dry vac to vacuum out the moist
dirt. Will I ruin the vac? Will I ruin the foam cover inside?

When I buy a new post, what do you think about my getting one 1/2" less
in diameter? Easier to put back in the hole?.



The post is about 4 1/2 " in diameter, but interestingly, the middle 3/4
to 1 inch is still made of wood. Below ground level (to a depth not yet
known) it's not dirt yet, and in the piece of the post that was standing
above ground level, it's different from its surroundings too.


Hi,
Rent an auger to dig them out.

It turns out the center core that is still wood gets thicker an inch
below the surface, almost 2 inches in diam.. Can I still use an auger
with the center of the post in the hole?

Wonder if vac. is powerful enough to suck
them out. I use car jack when I pull old fence post. Good luck.

A bumper jack, with a chain wrapped around the post?

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 14:42:23 -0400, Frank
wrote:

On 8/14/2014 2:09 PM, micky wrote:
The fence post I thought was broken off near the bottom, under ground,
turns out to be broken off just above ground level.

The post still in the ground seems to have turned into dirt.

What do you all think about using my wet-dry vac to vacuum out the moist
dirt. Will I ruin the vac? Will I ruin the foam cover inside?

When I buy a new post, what do you think about my getting one 1/2" less
in diameter? Easier to put back in the hole?.



The post is about 4 1/2 " in diameter, but interestingly, the middle 3/4
to 1 inch is still made of wood. Below ground level (to a depth not yet
known) it's not dirt yet, and in the piece of the post that was standing
above ground level, it's different from its surroundings too.



What's the hole made of, concrete?
Otherwise, every homeowner should have a post hole digger.

I forgot that I had one. The previous owner used it to plant rose
bushes and he left it behind. But because of the still wooden center
core of the old post, it stayed open 2 inches and wouldn't pull up much
dirt. I could probably think of a way to cut off the core a few inches
down, but deeper down it seems much harder.

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 16:01:09 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 14:09:51 -0400, micky
wrote:

The fence post I thought was broken off near the bottom, under ground,
turns out to be broken off just above ground level.


Okay.

The post still in the ground seems to have turned into dirt.

Drill a core in the at the top and check. Is it solid?

I was wrong. It's not dirt in the center. The center wood core got
thicker, to almost 2 inches, just a couple inches down.

What do you all think about using my wet-dry vac to vacuum out the moist
dirt. Will I ruin the vac? Will I ruin the foam cover inside?

I'd use a water hose, driving water down along side the post, Flood
it, flex it and soften the soil around the post.

OKay.

When I buy a new post, what do you think about my getting one 1/2" less
in diameter? Easier to put back in the hole?.

Why?

Dirt not removed won't get in the way.

The post is about 4 1/2 " in diameter, but interestingly, the middle 3/4
to 1 inch is still made of wood. Below ground level (to a depth not yet
known) it's not dirt yet, and in the piece of the post that was standing
above ground level, it's different from its surroundings too.

Make the earth around the post soft with water. Jet the water along
one side, or two. That will help loosen the compacted soil around the
post.

Post a photo link here.

Okay.

In ,
micky typed:
The fence post I thought was broken off near the bottom, under ground,
turns out to be broken off just above ground level.

The post still in the ground seems to have turned into dirt.

What do you all think about using my wet-dry vac to vacuum out the
moist dirt. Will I ruin the vac? Will I ruin the foam cover inside?

When I buy a new post, what do you think about my getting one 1/2"
less in diameter? Easier to put back in the hole?.

The post is about 4 1/2 " in diameter, but interestingly, the middle
3/4 to 1 inch is still made of wood. Below ground level (to a depth
not yet known) it's not dirt yet, and in the piece of the post that
was standing above ground level, it's different from its surroundings
too.

I am not sure that I can completely picture what you have there now. But,
could you just dig out a hole down on one side of the buried post, then
maybe do the water trick to remove more dirt around the old post, then tip
the old post into the hole and pull it out from there?

Or, do the same as above, including the water part, then tie a tow rope
around the "stump" (old post), and pull it out with a vehicle. That's how I
recently removed some pretty large arborvitae tree and bush stumps -- muddy,
but definitely fun.

micky writes:

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 12:24:12 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:

micky wrote:
The fence post I thought was broken off near the bottom, under ground,
turns out to be broken off just above ground level.

The post still in the ground seems to have turned into dirt.

What do you all think about using my wet-dry vac to vacuum out the moist
dirt. Will I ruin the vac? Will I ruin the foam cover inside?

When I buy a new post, what do you think about my getting one 1/2" less
in diameter? Easier to put back in the hole?.



The post is about 4 1/2 " in diameter, but interestingly, the middle 3/4
to 1 inch is still made of wood. Below ground level (to a depth not yet
known) it's not dirt yet, and in the piece of the post that was standing
above ground level, it's different from its surroundings too.


Hi,
Rent an auger to dig them out.

It turns out the center core that is still wood gets thicker an inch
below the surface, almost 2 inches in diam.. Can I still use an auger
with the center of the post in the hole?

You are over thinking this.

Dig down around the post and remove it.

Don't post here for instructions on how to use a shovel.

--
Dan Espen

On Thu, 14 Aug 2014 14:09:51 -0400, micky
wrote in

What do you all think about using my wet-dry vac to vacuum out the moist
dirt.

That will work.
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