[Greenbuilding] Fence posts--gravel or concrete

[Benjamin Pratt]

I put in a fence 5 years ago (this is in saint paul, mn)
Used reclaimed lumber, so I was only able to bury the posts about 18
inches. (8 foot posts that needed to be 6.5 feet high). Put at least a
foot of gravel beneath them, gravel beside them, and where the gates
are, a 3inch "washer" of concrete above the gravel.
The top of the fence was designed to be perfectly flat and straight,
even thought the grand beneath was not.
just checked out the fence. Still perfectly straight and true. So your
five foot deep posts should be just fine.
Ben


On Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 9:29 PM, Steve T <progressivepenguin at gmail.com> wrote:
> Absolutely.  I don't see me unsubscribing from this list any time soon.  Too
> much valuable information.  So I'll keep everyone updated, even after
> everyone has forgotten about the initial conversation.
>
> On Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 5:09 PM, Kat <molasses at q.com> wrote:
>>
>> Now you ARE going to update us in 2 years, and 5, and 10, to let us know
>> how it's holding up, right?  ;-)
>>
>> -Kat
>>
>> Steve T wrote:
>>>
>>> Just an update on my fence.  I did end up going 4' with 6" gravel at the
>>> bottom.  Quite happy with the results and so are the neighbors.  I'll be
>>> doing my other fence lines with only gravel as well.
>>>
>>> On Sat, May 21, 2011 at 10:22 PM, Steve T <progressivepenguin at gmail.com
>>> <mailto:progressivepenguin at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>    I don't doubt that we could use a shallower hole if we were using
>>>    concrete, but we will not be.  I've seen what heaving has done to
>>>    fences with concrete bases here (IMHO it looks like crap) and I want
>>>    to avoid that any way I can especially since it's my fence.  It
>>>    doesn't cost me any more to dig 5 feet and the cost of the extra
>>>    gravel is negligible.  The fence that we are replacing has concrete
>>>    footings, is only 10 years old and tilts in a stiff breeze.  The
>>>    physics of the deal says the deeper the post hole, the sturdier fence
>>>    so where the previous fence builders underbuilt, I will overbuild just
>>>    so I won't have to come back to it again.
>>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act!"
> -- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)
>
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-- 


b e n j a m i n p r a t t

professor art+design
the university of wisconsin stout