On 31/10/14 17:47, MM wrote:
For a couple of years the back fence (8 ft high) has been getting
increasingly wobbly in the wind, as one of the fence posts is loose in
the ground and allows the fence to move in the wind. The post may
either have rotted, or maybe just the movement caused by the wind was
enough to loosen it more and more.

So I'm going to get a new, treated fence post on Saturday (from e.g.
Baytree or Andrews) and will place it near the loose post.

I plan to dig the hole for the new post using my grubber, spade,
garden fork and whatever else that comes in handy. (I also have a
crowbar.)

I won't have much room to work, because, of course, the posts are
tight up against the fence.

Now, putting the new post in: Would it be best to prop it up so that
is properly vertical, then fill around the base with concrete?

Or should I just fill the hole with the earth I removed and tamp it
down?

And how deep should the post be inserted into the ground? These are
very sturdy posts (10cm x 10cm). None of the others shows any sign of
becoming loose; just this one particular one.

MM


I had my fence replaced professionally.

The technique they used (with concrete posts, but same with wood) was:

Dig hole, as tight as possible with a post shovel (long and thin).

Drop post in and position.

Fill with *damp* (not wet) concrete mix. It should be only just damp.

Ram damp mix down whilst holding post vertical and in place.

When you've rammed it the post will stand by itself, which it will not
do if the concrete is wet.

On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 20:34:42 +0000, Tim Watts
wrote:

On 31/10/14 17:47, MM wrote:
For a couple of years the back fence (8 ft high) has been getting
increasingly wobbly in the wind, as one of the fence posts is loose in
the ground and allows the fence to move in the wind. The post may
either have rotted, or maybe just the movement caused by the wind was
enough to loosen it more and more.

So I'm going to get a new, treated fence post on Saturday (from e.g.
Baytree or Andrews) and will place it near the loose post.

I plan to dig the hole for the new post using my grubber, spade,
garden fork and whatever else that comes in handy. (I also have a
crowbar.)

I won't have much room to work, because, of course, the posts are
tight up against the fence.

Now, putting the new post in: Would it be best to prop it up so that
is properly vertical, then fill around the base with concrete?

Or should I just fill the hole with the earth I removed and tamp it
down?

And how deep should the post be inserted into the ground? These are
very sturdy posts (10cm x 10cm). None of the others shows any sign of
becoming loose; just this one particular one.

MM


I had my fence replaced professionally.

The technique they used (with concrete posts, but same with wood) was:

Dig hole, as tight as possible with a post shovel (long and thin).

Drop post in and position.

Fill with *damp* (not wet) concrete mix. It should be only just damp.

Ram damp mix down whilst holding post vertical and in place.

When you've rammed it the post will stand by itself, which it will not
do if the concrete is wet.

Lots of good suggestions in this thread. I now need to do some more
thinking, plus looking at those Metpost type thingies.

One question right now: What on earth is a post shovel? (I can
probably Google it, though...!)

Thanks all.

MM

On Sat, 01 Nov 2014 06:37:38 +0000, MM wrote:

One question right now: What on earth is a post shovel? (I can
probably Google it, though...!)

I've googled it now! Cool tool, and not expensive.

MM

On 01/11/14 06:37, MM wrote:

One question right now: What on earth is a post shovel? (I can
probably Google it, though...!)

There are several forms:

Long handle (1.5-2m or so) with a very small square shovel head, not
much bigger than a trowel.

http://www.gardengoodies.co.nz/uploa...6_i1_w400.jpeg

Double type with scissor action:


http://www.hirestation.co.uk/images/...digger_1_6.jpg

You'll generally need a 4'-6' iron breaker bar to loosen the bottom of
the hole and dislodge rocks.

You can manage without all these things (although the iron bar is
useful) but it will take longer and you may end up with a bigger hole
and thus more concrete.

I had my fence replaced professionally.

The technique they used (with concrete posts, but same with wood) was:

Dig hole, as tight as possible with a post shovel (long and thin).

Drop post in and position.

Fill with *damp* (not wet) concrete mix. It should be only just damp.

Ram damp mix down whilst holding post vertical and in place.

When you've rammed it the post will stand by itself, which it will not
do if the concrete is wet.

+1 to all that.
Also worth mentioning the approach of using a very weak cement/gravel
mix. Strong enough to keep the post upright but weak enough to break up
when it needs replacing

On Sat, 01 Nov 2014 10:50:49 +0000, stuart noble
wrote:



I had my fence replaced professionally.

The technique they used (with concrete posts, but same with wood) was:

Dig hole, as tight as possible with a post shovel (long and thin).

Drop post in and position.

Fill with *damp* (not wet) concrete mix. It should be only just damp.

Ram damp mix down whilst holding post vertical and in place.

When you've rammed it the post will stand by itself, which it will not
do if the concrete is wet.

+1 to all that.
Also worth mentioning the approach of using a very weak cement/gravel
mix. Strong enough to keep the post upright but weak enough to break up
when it needs replacing

My post shovel arrived today already, so I can go back to the
post-fixing job tomorrow.

Re your comment about "very weak cement/gravel
mix", is the ready-mixed post-fix cement mixture in bags sold at DIY
outlets suitable?

Or should I just buy some plain cement and some gravel? What
proportion should the mix of these be, do you reckon?

MM

On 03/11/2014 17:53, MM wrote:
On Sat, 01 Nov 2014 10:50:49 +0000, stuart noble
wrote:



I had my fence replaced professionally.

The technique they used (with concrete posts, but same with wood) was:

Dig hole, as tight as possible with a post shovel (long and thin).

Drop post in and position.

Fill with *damp* (not wet) concrete mix. It should be only just damp.

Ram damp mix down whilst holding post vertical and in place.

When you've rammed it the post will stand by itself, which it will not
do if the concrete is wet.

+1 to all that.
Also worth mentioning the approach of using a very weak cement/gravel
mix. Strong enough to keep the post upright but weak enough to break up
when it needs replacing

My post shovel arrived today already, so I can go back to the
post-fixing job tomorrow.

Re your comment about "very weak cement/gravel
mix", is the ready-mixed post-fix cement mixture in bags sold at DIY
outlets suitable?

Or should I just buy some plain cement and some gravel? What
proportion should the mix of these be, do you reckon?

MM


Yes, buy the cement and (fine) gravel separately. I've never used it for
posts, but it was on this group I first saw it mentioned. My guess would
be around 8 gravel: 1 cement by volume. A quick Google suggests just pea
gravel alone could work if rammed down sufficiently. Any farmers out there?

On 04/11/14 10:23, stuart noble wrote:

Yes, buy the cement and (fine) gravel separately. I've never used it for
posts, but it was on this group I first saw it mentioned. My guess would
be around 8 gravel: 1 cement by volume. A quick Google suggests just pea
gravel alone could work if rammed down sufficiently. Any farmers out there?

You'll want some sand too.

Something like a 1:3:6 of cement:sharp-sand:shingle
should do it - be fairly weak if it needs to be broken out in future...

That's a C7.5 mix ^