putting in a fence how deep do I put in posts?

Question

ok putting in a 6 foot wood privacy fence and need to know how deep to put in the posts and what length posts to use (they will be 4x4's) they will be cemented in and the run will be 8 foot between posts

Answer 1

The depth depends somewhat on the type of soil. Sandy soil is not a structurally sound as clay, so it would require a deeper post hole. Also, the diameter of the hole is critical, unless you fill the hole to the cut edge with concrete, and not use any soil fill. The whole fence is only as good as its foundation, the base of the posts.



Regardless of the depth, all wood will shrink after cut. This shrinkage will cause the post to diminish in size from 4" by 4" to something less with the passage of time. The concrete will not expand to fill this shrinkage void, so a gap will form between the post and the concrete.



This gap will allow moisture to find its way between the wood and concrete and pond there, causing pre-mature wood/water rot, and eventually the base of the post will become loose, weak, and will fail.



Either find another way to secure the base of the wood post above the moisture line, or use metal posts.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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If you are really serious about it, make sure the bottom of the post is below the frost line. For a less exacting fence that will still probably never move, I would go between 1/3 to 1/2 the above ground length length of the post. For instance, a 4' fence should be made of 6' posts. The corner posts should go a little deeper. As a caveat, your soil is a huge factor in this. If you have firm, well drained soil, you can get away with a little less, if you live in a swamp, you would need more. Fence postss can be set in the dirt or the hole can be backfilled with concrete. A tip if you are using soil is to mix some cement in with the backfilled soil to give a substantially firmer base. It is sometimes helpful to buy posts a little long, then cut them to the desired height once they are in place. Remember to use lumber approved for ground contact.

Answer 4

How To Set Fence Posts

Answer 5

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RE:

putting in a fence how deep do I put in posts?

ok putting in a 6 foot wood privacy fence and need to know how deep to put in the posts and what length posts to use (they will be 4x4's) they will be cemented in and the run will be 8 foot between posts

Answer 6

No one has actually hit on the proper answer here. The post needs to be sunk below the frost line. PERIOD. Otherwise, the post could heave (be pushed out of the ground in the winter. The frost line for your area is different than the frost line for another area. Call your local building department and ask them what the code is for setting fence posts. I live in an area with NO frost line and I sink the posts at least 2 and sometimes two and a half feet. When I lived up north, they had to be at least 35" in the ground. PT posts will withstand being encased in concrete. They may rot eventually, but by then, you would probably want to replace the fence anyway. Oh, and btw, a 4 X 4 is only approximately 3 and a half inches in both directions. It's called "nominal dimensions".

Answer 7

As Heart said, you want 1/3 of the total length in the ground, at a minimum. If you live in a cold climate, you may need more. You want the bottom of the post below the frostline. Where I live (Wisconsin), the frostline is 48". As some of the other posters have stated, putting some compacted gravel in the hole first will help with drainage. When I build a fence, I only use concrete on corner posts and the post on the hinge side of the gate. The rest I fill with sand and pea gravel. I fill 1' at a time, pack it with the end of a shovel handle, then add water which will help the sand fill the voids. Bring it up until it is slightly crowned around the base of the post. You need the posts to be solid. Once you install the fencing, the wind will put a lot of pressure on them. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

If the footing is above the frost line, the ground freeze will spit the footing out like a watermelon seed. How deep the posts go in will be limited by the length of the post but the footing for that post must go well below the frost line and be preferably wider at the base than at the top in order to resist ground heave That's the other mistake that people make is they dig the hole such that the bottom is smaller than the top and then when they pour in concrete, it forms a tapered plug that again is spit out of the ground like a watermelon seed on first freeze. There are many options for footings from concrete to expanding polyurethane foam, to gravel fill to a stainless steel spike that attaches to the bottom of the post, whatever it is, it has to go in deep, the deeper the better, the footing not the post.

Answer 9

The posts should be set to 1/3 of their total depth, so for a 6 foot tall fence, the posts need to be 3 feet deep. Don't think you can skimp on this, wooden fences are very heavy and with wind and weather a fence with posts set too shallowly will fail. I proved this to myself the hard way and am now dealing with a time consuming and expensive fence repair.

Answer 10

As a well driller in Northern Wisconsin, we have steel cased wells down 30 to 60 heave up from the frost in heavy clay type soils. So, going below the first level does NOT solve your problems. If you want longevity with any post in the ground in "heavy" soil, you must back fill the surrounding area of the post with clean mason sand below frost level. No movement, perfect fence.

Answer 11

seems like no one has heard of pressure treated lumber. use some of that to prevent rot as to the depth you need to be below the frost line if that is a situation you have there or you might get frost heaving and the posts will move. other wise go to 3 to 4 foot depth as this will provide a good strong hold on the post once put in cement

Answer 12

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Answer 13

My fence has been up for many years with no problem. Eight foot posts sunk two feet into the ground and cemented.

Answer 14

Don't use cement as it will only rot out the 4X4s. Dig your hole 5 feet deep, pour in 12 inches of gravel consisting of 2 inch stones. Tamp the gravel down. Install the posts. Fill the holes with dirt. You can buy 4X4s up to 16 feet long, so don't think you have to use 8 footers. Ten footers would work fine in your application.

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Answer 17

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Answer 18

this isn't hard, buy 10 foot 4x4's dig a hole 4' deep and make sure you tamp the dirt as you back fill. rule of thumb is 10% of the post length +2' a 40' power pole is only 6' in the ground.

Answer 19

You want the section of the post that is under ground to be 1/3 the total length of the post.



trust me, i've built a few fences.

Answer 20

Dig the holes 3 foot deep and use 9 foot posts.

Answer 21

When sitting fence posts dig the hole about 18 inches to 24 inches deep for a 4x4" by 8 ft long post. Place a few rocks in the bottom of the hole to allow water to settle from around your fence post. Place the fence post on top of the rocks; by the way, these are small round rocks just to provide a place for water to gather at the bottom of the hole, a double handful, then place the post on top of the rocks, steady the post, put dirt around the post to about a foot, pack down, put concrete up to ground level, no more than ground level, pack and that's that.

For corner posts you can put all concrete. For straight fence area, and if the ground has a lot of clay you may not need concrete at all. If your post exceeds the top of the 6 ft. fence it's no big deal if the fence post doesn't show above the fence so it may be easier to cut the post before setting it.

thanks

Answer 22

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Answer 23

2 or 3 would be fine also if you want you could drill holes in the posts 1 at 4" from bottom and another at 8" and insert steel bars 1/2" diameter in a + position to act as anchors for your posts 18" to 2 ft long.

Answer 24

How does the size and type of fence posts affect the quantity of concrete you use

Answer 25

if you live in a place where the ground freezes, 4' deep..other wise, 3 feet would be good.

Answer 26

fence posts normally come 8' tall so just cement them 2' deep

Answer 27

2 ft

Answer 28

not 2 deep think its because of all d porn i'm watching ;0

Answer 29

you dont have much choice as most 4x4 come in 8 foot :) Increase the hole size if you think you need more :)