c/fence-erectors

Had a real stubborn gate post in wet clay near Portland

Honestly, the ground was so soft the post kept leaning no matter how much concrete I packed. Tbh, I ended up driving two 4-foot steel stakes at an angle on opposite sides and lag bolting them to the post before the pour. Ngl, it held rock solid. Anyone else have a go-to trick for posts in pure mud?

Tried a different post hole digger on a rocky lot in Boise

Used a manual auger with a rock bit on a property full of river stone, thinking it would be easier than the machine. It just bounced off and nearly threw me off my feet. Anyone have a better method for setting posts in ground that's more rock than dirt?

I always thought pressure treated posts were the only way to go for a long life

I was reading a trade magazine at the supply house yesterday and saw a study from a university. They said a cedar post set in concrete can actually rot faster at ground level than one set in gravel... because the concrete holds moisture against the wood. They had pictures of posts pulled after 8 years and the difference was clear. I've been setting everything in concrete mix for a decade. Has anyone else switched to a gravel base for certain woods after seeing something like this?

Showerthought: I tried a new post hole digger and it almost cost me a whole day

I was doing a job in Cedar Rapids last week and grabbed this new 'Turbo Dig' auger attachment for my skid steer. The ad said it could handle 30 holes an hour in rocky soil. After the first 5 holes, the motor started smoking and the whole gearbox seized up. I had to rent a standard auger to finish the job, which put me 6 hours behind schedule. The lesson is that sometimes the fancy new gear just can't handle real world conditions like the old reliable stuff. Has anyone else had a new tool fail spectacularly on a simple job?

Hot take: I was setting posts wrong for a decade

I always packed the base with gravel and thought concrete was overkill. Then a big windstorm in Tulsa last spring took out three of my fences while the one I did with full concrete footings stood fine. Anyone else make the switch after seeing real damage?

The day a squirrel decided to help with my post hole digger

Last Thursday, I was setting a line of cedar posts for a privacy fence in Oak Park. I had just started the auger on my two-man digger when a squirrel jumped right onto the spinning shaft, got its tail wrapped up, and basically turned the whole thing into a furry, screaming helicopter. I had to hit the kill switch and spend the next twenty minutes calming down a very dizzy rodent and untangling its tail from the grease. Has anyone else had a wild animal try to join the crew mid-job?

Thinking about that vinyl fence I put up in Cedar Rapids three years ago...

Everyone says vinyl is the best for low upkeep, but I'm starting to think it was a bad call. Last month, a big storm came through and a whole section of that fence just... popped out. The posts were set in concrete, but the whole thing flexed so much it pulled right up. I had to go back and basically redo the whole line. Last week, I saw the same thing happen to a neighbor's new vinyl fence after some high winds. It just feels too light, like it doesn't have the weight to hold its ground. I know wood needs more care, but a good pressure-treated pine post set deep feels solid, you know? It has some heft to it. Maybe for a small yard it's fine, but out here where the weather gets rough, I'm not sold anymore. Has anyone else had vinyl fences fail on them like that?

I finally tried that new 'self-leveling' post mix on a job in Springfield

It cost me $80 for two bags and ended up setting way too fast in the heat, ruining three posts before I could get them plumb. Now I'm back to the old reliable stuff and out the cash. Do you think these quick-set products are ever worth the risk, or should we just stick with what we know works?

Appreciation post: A job in Charleston taught me to always check for buried lines myself

We were setting a post and hit a cable line the homeowner swore wasn't there. Cost me half a day and a $300 repair bill. Now I run my own locator before I even mark the line, no matter what the client says. Anyone else get burned by trusting a property sketch?

Finished a tricky cedar fence in Boise and the homeowner's kid drew me a picture of it

He said it looked like a castle wall, which made the whole 3-day install feel awesome. Anyone else have a client's family say something that just made your week?

Just realized the old crew I worked with in Phoenix 5 years ago would have laughed at using a laser level for a basic wood fence, now it's standard for the new guys.

Showerthought: I used to think a post hole digger was just a post hole digger until I saw a crew in Austin do it different

About two years back, I was helping a buddy on a small residential job, just using the standard clamshell diggers. It was slow, messy, and killed your back. Then last month, I subbed in for a day with a crew on a big commercial line in Austin. They were using a hydraulic auger on a compact track loader for every single hole, even the ones near buildings. The difference was crazy. We set over 80 posts in one day with a three man crew. My old way, that would have taken us three days easy and left us wrecked. The upfront cost for that gear is no joke, but seeing how fast and clean it was changed my mind on what's 'necessary' for a pro operation. Has anyone else made that jump to more machine work, and did the math on jobs actually work out better for you?

Vent: Had a vinyl fence panel blow clean out in a Kansas windstorm last month.

Honestly, we set it in concrete like we always do, but the wind just ripped the whole section from the posts. Ngl, it was a mess. Has anyone else had this happen and found a better way to anchor vinyl in super windy spots?

Spent $450 on a new post driver attachment for my skid steer and it bent on the third job.

The weld on the collar gave out when I hit a rock I couldn't see, and now I'm back to using the manual driver for a big commercial run in Tempe next week, anyone know a brand that can actually take a real hit?

I finally figured out a way to set posts in pure clay without a machine

Had a job out near Mill Creek where the ground is basically solid red clay. My usual method with the post hole digger was just tearing up my shoulders and taking forever, maybe 20 minutes a post. I was about ready to rent a power auger, but then I remembered something an old timer said about using water. I took my garden sprayer, filled it up, and just kept spraying the hole as I dug. The water turned the clay into mud, and the digger went right through it. Cut my time down to like 5 minutes a hole. It was messy, but it worked. Has anyone else had to get creative in awful soil like that?

A homeowner in Boise told me my post tops were cut too sharp, now I round them over with a router.

Warning: That 'solid' oak post in the Richmond job was rotted through the middle.

I was setting the final post on a picket fence last Tuesday, gave it a good whack with the maul, and the whole thing just split open like a rotten log, showing a hollow core full of carpenter ants, so I had to drive back to the yard, eat the cost on a new pressure-treated 4x4, and reset the whole corner by myself in the dark.

Spent $300 on a laser level for a big commercial job and it saved me two full days of layout.

Honestly, I was skeptical about the cost, but lining up 800 feet of post holes for a chain link run in a parking lot was dead straight on the first try, so has anyone found a cheaper brand that holds up just as well?

Appreciation post: A job in Galveston taught me about wind loads on vinyl fences

We were putting up a standard 6-foot vinyl privacy fence for a beach house, and the homeowner asked if we could make it stronger than usual. I added extra concrete and used heavier posts, thinking it was overkill. A big storm came through a month later and his fence was the only one on the block still standing, which made me look up the local wind code. Do you guys check wind ratings for coastal jobs, or just go with the standard install?

Vent: I was setting a 6-foot cedar post in Omaha clay when the whole thing shifted after the concrete set.

I had to cut the post, dig a new hole right next to it, and use a steel bracket to join them, so what's your go-to fix for a post that's out of plumb after the pour?

A client in Denver called my cedar fence 'too perfect' and it actually made sense after I thought about it.

They said the perfectly straight lines and uniform spacing looked unnatural against their rustic property, so now I intentionally vary the board gaps by an eighth of an inch and let some grain show more, which honestly looks better for certain homes.

Shoutout to the guy who showed me the right way to set a corner post

I was putting up a split rail fence for a client in Springfield last month, and I kept having trouble with the corner posts leaning after a few weeks. I was using the same method I always did, just tamping the dirt around the post after setting it in the hole. Then this older contractor I know stopped by the supply yard and saw me loading up. He asked about my job and told me to try the 'concrete collar' method instead. He said to dig the hole a bit wider at the bottom, set the post, then pour a 10-inch thick collar of concrete just around the base, but keep the rest of the hole filled with dirt and gravel. I tried it on that job, and those corner posts are rock solid. The concrete locks the base in place but the dirt fill still lets water drain away so the wood doesn't rot as fast. Has anyone else switched to a method like this for wood posts, or do you have a different trick?

My grandpa said to always soak cedar posts in a bucket of water for a full day before setting them.

He was a fence guy for forty years, so I listened. Last spring I had a big job putting in a 200-foot cedar fence for a client. I soaked every single post in a big plastic tub for 24 hours like he said. The ground was pretty dry. When I went back a year later to fix a gate, I pulled on one of those posts and it felt like it was set in concrete. The wood had swollen up tight in the hole and there was zero wobble. My grandpa passed last winter, but his old-school trick saved me a ton of callbacks. I've heard some guys say it's a waste of time, but seeing is believing. Does anyone else use this method, or is there a better prep trick for different wood types?

That job in Springfield with the 400 foot cedar fence line.

Ground was pure clay, like digging into concrete. My old post hole digger snapped clean in half on the third hole. Client kept asking if we could 'hurry it up' while we were soaked in mud. Anyone else ever have a dig that just broke you?

That one customer who insisted his fence line was 'perfectly straight' by eye

I was setting posts for a backyard job in Springfield last month, and the homeowner kept telling me to ignore my string line because he could 'see' it was off. He literally stood behind me going 'nope, move it left an inch... wait, my bad, right two inches' for like twenty minutes. How do you even start to explain why that's a terrible idea without sounding like a jerk?