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How to Set Fence Posts
How to Set Fence Posts. For a sturdy fence or structure, start with level, properly set posts. Whether your posts are for a fence to protect a vegetable garden or the support for an arbor or clothesline, the techniques for setting posts is the same. Start with weather treated posts, dig a hole deep enough to hold 1/3 the length of your post and...
For a sturdy fence or structure, start with level, properly set posts. Whether your posts are for a fence to protect a vegetable garden or the support for an arbor or clothesline, the techniques for setting posts is the same. Start with weather treated posts, dig a hole deep enough to hold 1/3 the length of your post and check the vertical level of your post continuously. As you plan your project, leave plenty of time for the concrete to cure properly.
Things You'll Need
Post hole digger
4-by-4-by-8 Weather treated posts
Long mason's level
Scrap lumber for bracing
Quick-setting concrete.
Dig a hole at least 2-feet deep with the manual or power post hole digger to set an 8-foot post. Set about 1/3 of the length of the post in the hole.
Level the post vertically in the hole with a long mason's level. Support the post in the hole by pouring rocks around it. For taller posts, build above ground bracing by nailing 2-by-2 or 2-by-4-foot lumber scraps to the post on the diagonal. Check the level continuously as bumps are likely to knock it out of kilter.
Pour the dry concrete around the post in the hole. Tamp the dry concrete until it's hard. Continue to check the vertical level of the post as you tamp.
Pour water slowly into the hole so it seeps into the concrete. Add water until the concrete is saturated. Level once more and adjust the post before the concrete begins to harden. Let the concrete harden and cure for several days before removing the braces.
Tips & Warnings
You can wet and stir concrete in a wheelbarrow and pour it into the hole wet, but it's easier to add it in dry and begin to tamp it down until it's hard.
