Lightweight slotted fence posts: "lite" concrete or PVC?
 

I'd welcome views from anyone who has used one or other or - even better -
both of the "lightweight" concrete and the uPVC slotted posts. I'm
particularly interested in strength and (so far as possible given they are
new-ish) durability.

The job is a fence for a small garden in a sheltered (city) position. At
least 5 foot panels; and on a slight slope so at least 6 inch gravel. I
have ruled out traditional concrete slotted posts: I am too old/weak for
even the 8 foot ones let alone the 9 foot I'd prefer. So I'm tempted by
either the 8'9" Supreme Concrete Lite posts or the 9' Supalite uPVC posts.
But I've been unable to see either of them or find independent views.
Travis Perkins list the Supreme Concrete but there are none in stock near me
and no info on www.supremeconcrete.co.uk. There are no Supalite stockists
near me and I've not been able to find any in use. While the posts sound a
good idea (with a metal core to the larger ones) I'm more dubious about how
they and the matching gravel boards would stand up to general wear and tear.

--
Robin
email address is munged: remove the obviously invalid bits

Lightweight slotted fence posts: "lite" concrete or PVC?
 

Robin wrote:
I'd welcome views from anyone who has used one or other or - even
better - both of the "lightweight" concrete and the uPVC slotted
posts. I'm particularly interested in strength and (so far as
possible given they are new-ish) durability.

The job is a fence for a small garden in a sheltered (city) position.
At least 5 foot panels; and on a slight slope so at least 6 inch
gravel. I have ruled out traditional concrete slotted posts: I am
too old/weak for even the 8 foot ones let alone the 9 foot I'd
prefer. So I'm tempted by either the 8'9" Supreme Concrete Lite
posts or the 9' Supalite uPVC posts. But I've been unable to see
either of them or find independent views. Travis Perkins list the
Supreme Concrete but there are none in stock near me and no info on
www.supremeconcrete.co.uk. There are no Supalite stockists near me
and I've not been able to find any in use. While the posts sound a
good idea (with a metal core to the larger ones) I'm more dubious
about how they and the matching gravel boards would stand up to
general wear and tear.

The more metal they have, the sooner they fall apart, especially if the
concrete is 'lite' - the metal rusts, expands and the concrete falls off in
chunks.
For what you'd pay for these things you could probably get a fencing
contractor to do the job for you with proper concrete posts...also you're
way off with your measurements - you don't need 9 ft posts for a 5 foot
fence, you need six foot six ones.

PVC is generally crap WRT fencing, it suffers in direct sunlight and becomes
brittle.

Lightweight slotted fence posts: "lite" concrete or PVC?
 

...also you're way off with your measurements - you don't need 9 ft posts
for a 5 foot fence, you need six foot six ones.

I am very ready to believe I've dropped a stitch. But with the slope taking
up around 6" that would seem to leave me with just 1 foot buried. Is that
really enough, even concreted into good loam?
I was reckoning 5' fence + 6" gravel board, + 2'6" buried = 8'; but favoured
the larger posts to give scope for 12" gravel boards in future - eg if the
neighbourhood foxes dig even deeper.

PVC is generally crap WRT fencing, it suffers in direct sunlight and
becomes brittle.

More so than uPVC windows? I'd settle for them lasting 25 years!

Lightweight slotted fence posts: "lite" concrete or PVC?
 

Robin wrote:
...also you're way off with your measurements - you don't need 9 ft
posts for a 5 foot fence, you need six foot six ones.

I am very ready to believe I've dropped a stitch. But with the slope
taking up around 6" that would seem to leave me with just 1 foot
buried. Is that really enough, even concreted into good loam?
I was reckoning 5' fence + 6" gravel board, + 2'6" buried = 8'; but
favoured the larger posts to give scope for 12" gravel boards in
future - eg if the neighbourhood foxes dig even deeper.

you'd have problems getting a 12 inch gravel board in after they've been
concreted in -(the post concrete should come up to the underside of the
gravel boards, so that any future ground movement / washing away of soil
etc, cannot cause the panel to slip down on one side or the other) and even
then you'd only gain an extra 6 inches underground....what I've done in the
past with this type of fencing is to knock in old slates to a depth of
around 16 - 20 inches, although this was to deter rats, which has succeeded


PVC is generally crap WRT fencing, it suffers in direct sunlight and
becomes brittle.

More so than uPVC windows? I'd settle for them lasting 25 years!

White ones yes, brown ones tend to warp given that they absorb sunlight and
get too hot...unless you can find solid white pvc posts...