Thinking of using concrete fence posts instead of wood or steel. Anyone have experience doing this?
We bought five acres in Northern California and need to put up fencing to protect our future crops from deer and smaller critters. There is existing wooden pole fencing with hog wire on two sides of the property but the adjoining property owner says after 15 years he’s now replacing many of the wood poles. We just saw a fence with concrete 4X4 posts placed approximately 10 feet apart and hog wire stretched between them and this looks like a great alternative. It was erected on government land so i am thinking this is expensive?? Looks great and probably lasts forever. Any advice? I looked online and it looks like most precasted is manufactured oversees or by big commercial building material providers. Anything local? Guess we could make our own but we’re old (65+) and should be doing less heavy work.
Replies
http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/breaktime/general-discussion/concrete-fence-posts-0
http://www.louispage.com/blog/bid/10949/Concrete-Fence-Posts
http://cficoncrete.com/ranch-rail-fencing/
Unfortunately, few folks in the US appear to have heard about concrete fence posts, though they appear popular in England, Swaziland, India, Australia, and other corners of the earth.
We've got fences still standing from the 1920's and 30's standing in water for months out of the year that are still as strong as the day they were installed. You need some heart pine fence posts!
Seriously, the concrete post don't usually last any longer than wood if they have steel rebar. The rebar rust and breaks the posts apart. Locust posts will last a long time if you can find them.