Have to install 25 fence posts tomorrow. 2 3/8 oil field pipe to wth stand the strong winds here. It will be a cedar picket fence.
I was wondering if there was a tip out there to speed up the post setting. The only way I really know how to do this many is to set up braces for each post keeping them on the string line. I need them EXACT. I just cant help but think fence contractors have a trick up their sleeve for speeding this up. I have already set my end posts in concrete , pulled my string line, marked my holes and dug them. My plan tomorrow is to set all the posts with the braces and call in the concrete truck.
I hate having to buy 50 1×2 and then I have to figure a way to attach it to the steel posts.
I am so used to working alone that I cant see the forest through the trees sometimes. Do you think it is possible to do each post individually as the concrete truck pours it?
any tips are appreciated.
Replies
anyplace I have ever worked - using crete is the best way to ruin a fence job
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These are steel posts no?
They can rust just as easily in the dirt as they can surrounded by concrete.
Just an observation, the only fences that I've put up were cattle/hog fences and no concrete used!
Doug
Many times I have considered that very fact...and at the last minute decided on concrete. Why? because I have never seen the end result of packing gravel. I am game. Will it hold up to 60 mph wind. Does the gravel give over time.
Enlighten me. Do you use crusher run? Gravel? screedings?
Give me some details ( how much to pack it down, water or no? etc.) and I might actually try it
I'd use concrete on the corner/end posts only, and drive the rest (or backfill with hole cuttings). Yeah, you can use a string between corners for the a straight layout. Plumb with a level, no shortcuts there. If you grout them all in, you'll have a heck of a time tweaking a post here or there that might look off when you're done.
I would use the concrete.
Put 2 string lines one high and one low.
Tamp in with dirt enough to secure post.
If length a part has to be exact you could build jigs with a block to fit in each post and nail runners from post to post then use them to attach bracing as well.
I never have brought in a concrete truck but I have rented an electric mixer and now own one.
I think it would tie up a truck for too long and the crete may even harden in the truck before completion.
How big are your holes?
ANDYSZ2WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?
REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST
you never got to the point of my original post. Any speedy tips for setting 25 steel posts plumb.
To brace the steel posts, cap each post with 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" plywood (3/4") boxes, screwed (but not glued) together.
Make each box a hair tight. Fasten any loose ones to the post top with a squirt or two of expanding foam - you can grind that away later.
Fasten your bracing to the ply boxes with 16g brads as you plumb each post. When you are happy all are plumb and they line up to your string(s), drive screws to strengthen and stabilize the bracing. Make sure your braces do not impede concrete delivery and handling.
How you gonna cut the tops so they end up at the same height relative to the fence?
ENGAURD, PARRY, THRUST, PARRY, THRUST, THRUST!
Sorry could not resist given the title!
Wallyo
Never used that big of pipe but I'd think I'd try the same method for T-posts and pound them in as oppposed to digging holes. For t-posts there's a pounder that looks like a pipe with one end welded & weighted and 2 handles; set the open end over the posts and slide it up & down pounding the post in. Going to be some differences for your pipe due to surface area but I would think more weight would overcome that.
The time's I've used gravel I've used stones about 3/8" to 1/2". Use a bar to tamp them in. You can also use the bar to adjust the level by tamping more on one side than the other. When I'm just filling with GA clay I use a sledge hammer with the head in my hand and the handle poking in the hole.
What kind of soil are you working with?