c/fence-erectors

I used to think T-posts were junk until I talked to a rancher out near Denton

He showed me how he drives them on a slight angle into clay soil and they hold just as good as wood for half the cost. Has anyone else found a trick that changed their mind about a certain material?

3 comments

the_lucas•5d ago

Pro tip: stop using those cheap plastic post hole diggers from Home Depot

Broke my third one last month on a job in Austin, and it finally hit me that I've been wasting money on the wrong tool. My buddy Ron showed up with his old school steel digger from the 80s and finished my holes in half the time. Anybody else ditch the plastic handles for good and never look back?

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white.keith•7d ago

Shoutout to the guy who dug 20 post holes 6 inches too shallow

I just wrapped a gate job outside Nashville where the previous crew set H-posts barely 18 inches deep in clay soil. By spring the whole 100 foot run had shifted a good 4 inches. Why do people think skipping depth saves time when it just creates callbacks?

3 comments

henry150•7d ago

Put my auger through a gas line on a job in Austin last Thursday.

I was digging post holes for a 150 foot privacy fence in a new development. Hit a gas line about 2 feet down that wasn't marked on the map they gave me. Had to sit there with the gas company for 3 hours while they fixed it. Customer was cool about it, but I lost a whole day of work. Anyone else have a utility hit story that cost you a full day?

3 comments

aaronroberts•8d ago

PSA: tried mixing concrete by hand for a small gate post job... big mistake

Last week I had to set a single gate post in a tight spot where I couldn't get my mixer close. Figured I'd just mix a couple bags in a wheelbarrow by hand like the old days. Took me almost 45 minutes to get the consistency right and my arms were dead by the end. The post ended up slightly out of plumb because I was rushing. Next time I'm renting a portable mixer for $35 even for small jobs. Anyone else try hand mixing and regret it or is there a trick I'm missing?

3 comments

hernandez.gavin•8d ago

Tried rebar stakes instead of wood for a 200 foot job

Everyone told me wood stakes are the only way to go, but I used rebar on a fence last month in that rocky soil near Austin. The rebar bent like crazy on the third section and I had to cut them all out with a grinder. Has anyone else had rebar fail on them or did I just pick the wrong grade?

3 comments

rose_clark81•13d ago

The day I stopped digging post holes with a shovel and a prayer

I used to hand dig every single post hole with a shovel and a clam shell digger, even in rocky soil. Took me 3 hours to sink 4 posts on a job down in Brighton last summer. Finally broke down and bought a used PTO auger for $150 off a guy on Craigslist, and now I can set 20 posts in 45 minutes with zero back pain. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized you were just making things harder for no good reason?

3 comments

theacooper•13d ago

Tried post frame vs welded wire for a horse pasture last month

I figured post frame was overkill and the welded wire would be fine, took me 3 days to set it all up. The horses leaned on it twice and now I've got gaps big enough to stick my arm through. Anyone else regret going cheap on something that looked good on paper?

3 comments

ruby_bell47•14d ago

Why nobody talks about digging post holes with a shovel instead of an auger

Been putting up fence for about 6 years now and always used a gas auger for post holes. Last week I had a job in rocky soil near Austin where the auger kept jamming on rocks. Got frustrated after 3 hours and tried an old school digging bar and shovel combo. Turns out I got 8 holes done in the same time with way less hassle. The auger would bind up and I'd waste 20 minutes clearing it. Anyone else had better luck with hand tools in tough ground?

3 comments

hernandez.gavin•15d ago

Cracked a brand new concrete tube on site last Friday

I was setting a corner post for a 6-foot privacy fence in Austin and the tube just split right down the middle when I started tamping... lucky I caught it before the concrete set. Had to dig the whole thing out and start over with a heavier gauge tube from the truck. Cost me an extra hour and a half on a job that was already tight. Has anyone else had duds from a bad batch of tubes lately?

4 comments

taylor.brooke•15d ago

Talked to an old mason last Friday and he made me rethink how I set posts

I was on a job in Asheville last week putting up a 200 foot run of cedar privacy fence. An old mason named Hank was pouring a footer nearby for a retaining wall. He came over and watched me dump Quickrete around a post. He just shook his head and said "you're gonna be back in 3 years to replace that." I asked what he meant. He said concrete holds water against the wood and rots it out from the inside. He said to use gravel instead. Let the water drain. I argued with him for a bit about stability and wind load. But he just shrugged and walked back to his forms. I sat there thinking about it and then I did some reading that night. Now I'm halfway through digging out the last 12 posts I set to switch to gravel. Has anyone else made this switch from concrete? How do you handle gate posts with the gravel method?

3 comments

david920•16d ago

TIL my old post hole diggers were way off after 15 years

I was digging holes for a 200ft run of cedar fence last week and kept noticing the holes were coming out crooked. Turns out my old diggers had bent slightly over the years and I never even noticed until I put a level on them. Had to redo like 6 holes and it added 2 hours to my day. Anyone else ever had tools slowly go out of whack without realizing it?

3 comments

alext52•17d ago

Tried setting posts in gravel vs concrete on a 200ft run last month

I had a 200 foot run for a horse pasture and decided to try crushed gravel on half of it to save money and time. The gravel side already has two posts leaning after two weeks while the concrete side is solid as a rock. Anyone else ever have gravel work out for them or am I just wasting my time with it?

3 comments

sandra_moore30•17d ago

Can we talk about using T-posts on residential jobs

I keep seeing guys throw T-posts on 4-foot backyard fences around here in St. Louis and it drives me nuts. Set a few of those next to a good 6-gauge chain link terminal and the difference in stability is night and day after a rainy season. I pulled one job where the T-posts were already leaning 3 months in and the client was ready to sue. Have you all had better luck with them or am I the only one who sticks to round posts for anything under 6 foot?

3 comments

xenam84•19d ago

Old timer at the supply yard gave me a quote that stuck

I was picking up a load of 8-foot cedar pickets last Tuesday and an older guy loading his trailer said 'a fence that leans ain't a fence, it's a suggestion.' He was talking about setting posts deeper than the frost line even if the customer complains about cost. I've been cutting corners on depth to keep bids low and it hit me that I've been building suggestions for 3 years. Anybody else have a customer call back about a leaning section you thought was fine?

3 comments

barbaradavis•22d ago

Talking to an old timer yesterday made me rethink my post hole digger method

I was out on a job in rural Ohio and an 80 year old farmer came over to chat. He told me I was digging too fast and missing the hardpan layer that'll rot the posts later. He showed me how he soaks the ground first and takes it slow, and honestly I've never had a post stay straight like that. Has anyone else gotten advice that totally flipped how you do a basic step?

3 comments

angela728•22d ago

Watch out for those recycled plastic fence posts that look like wood

Installed a full fence line near Austin last month with these postsa friend swore by, and by week three three of them had cracked right down the middle. Had to pull the whole thing and start over on a Saturday. Has anyone else tried these and had them hold up in heat?

3 comments

corap61•22d ago

Measured a 40 foot run with a tape and got it wrong by 3 inches

I always trusted my tape measure over string lines but last week I checked a 40 foot run with a laser level and found I was off by 3 inches at the end. Turns out temperature changes can stretch a steel tape by about an eighth inch per 100 feet in the sun... now I double check with a string line every time. Has anyone else caught weird tape measure errors on long runs?

3 comments

garcia.wren•23d ago

That one comment about my gate sagging that actually fixed everything

Ngl, I was so annoyed when a customer pointed out my gate was already sagging 3 months after I hung it. He said I needed to add a specific diagonal brace from the bottom hinge to the top corner, not just any random angle. Tried it on the next job in Fresno and the thing is still dead level 8 months later. Has anyone else gotten feedback that felt like a burn but turned out to be a lifesaver?

3 comments

fisher.jessica•23d ago

I finally got a stubborn gate post plumb in wet clay using a trick my uncle showed me.

Last month in Springfield, I had a gate post that just would not hold level in this super wet, heavy clay. After trying three times with the normal mix, I remembered my uncle saying to throw a bag of quick-set concrete into the hole first, then pour the regular mix on top. I did that, braced it for a full 24 hours, and it hasn't moved a millimeter since. Has anyone else tried something like this, or do you think it's asking for trouble down the line?

3 comments

logan271•24d ago

Stuck between driven posts and concrete footings on a rocky lot in Flagstaff

I had a job last month on this lot near the mountains where the ground was pure caliche and basalt chunks. I spent two days trying to decide between driving steel posts or digging holes for concrete footings. I went with driven posts because I figured it would be faster and I didn't want to haul in a mini excavator. Man, I bent three posts on the first day and had to rent a rock auger anyway to pre-drill pilot holes. It ended up costing me an extra $400 in rental fees and two more days of labor. Has anyone else dealt with that kind of rocky ground and found a better way to pick your footing method?

3 comments

flores.mark•24d ago

Old timer told me my post holes were all wrong and saved me a headache

Last month on a job in Phoenix, this guy who's been building fences since the 80s walks over and says my holes are too wide at the top. He showed me how I was digging them like a cone instead of keeping the sides straight down. Changed my whole method after that, now I use a shorter shovel and check with a level every 3 scoops. Anyone else get a tip from a random dude on site that actually worked?

3 comments

flores.mark•26d ago

Had a weird job in Galveston that made me rethink my whole approach to post holes

I was putting up a fence right by the beach last spring, and the sand was just swallowing my auger. We'd dig down 30 inches and the sides would cave in before we could set the post. My helper looked at me and said, 'This is like trying to dig in sugar.' We ended up mixing a bag of concrete with the sand at the bottom of each hole before setting the post, and it held solid. Anyone else have to get creative with super sandy soil?

3 comments

gray_hall4•26d ago

Rant: My dad swore by setting posts in gravel for a wet yard in Portland, but after a winter of heavy rain, three of them shifted over 2 inches.

Honestly, I should have listened to the local guy who told me to use concrete in that soggy clay, so what's your go-to method for wet ground?

3 comments

nora_webb51•26d ago

Warning: That old trick for setting posts in clay soil can backfire

For a decade, I'd just pour a dry concrete mix around the post and add water, thinking it set faster. Last spring in Augusta, a whole line of pickets on a 40-foot run started leaning after a heavy rain. The clay held the water like a bowl and the concrete never cured right. I switched to using a gravel base and a wet mix, tamping it in layers. Has anyone else found a better fix for wet clay spots?

3 comments