Guy at Home Depot told me I was installing fence posts backwards and he was right

Was loading up lumber last Saturday and some random dude in a beat-up truck just walks over and says "your post flanges are on the wrong side, you're gonna trap water." I've been doing this for like 10 years, fencing work on the side. He showed me how rain will pool inside the bracket if you face the opening toward the panel instead of away from it. Spent 4 hours that night flipping 12 posts I'd already set in concrete. Has anyone else had some stranger at the hardware store save them from a dumb mistake?

3 comments

3 Comments

craig.olivia3d ago

Twelve posts set in concrete is rough, @the_cameron knows what that back pain feels like too from his deck story. At least you caught it before the weekend was totally shot, I would've just sat there staring at it for an hour before giving in and digging them back up.

sandragrant3d ago

12 posts already set in concrete and you had to flip all of them? That's a long weekend right there. I've been doing home projects for over 20 years and I hate when someone points out a mistake like that after the concrete is already mixed. At least he caught you before the concrete fully cured, that would have been a real nightmare to break out. Sounds like you handled it about as well as anyone could.

the_cameron3d ago

Funny enough, @sandragrant, this reminds me of a time I helped my buddy build a deck and we set the posts facing the wrong direction. Took us a full day to realize the joist hangers were on the inside, not the outside (oops). We had to twist each one around and re-level them, which meant re-digging half the holes since the concrete was still soft. My back hurt for a week after, but at least we caught it before the hard stuff set in. Your story is way more relatable than I'd like to admit.