Setting Fence Posts

Fence posts add the much-needed beauty and spark to the fence you have installed around your house. But that is not all to the fence posts. They prove to be highly useful for preventing the fence from falling off with time, especially with weather lashes when the mud creeps up from the monsoon rains. As a result, your fence is exposed to moisture which, in turn, invites termites and keeps away lumber. Here enter the fence posts that are essential for keeping the base dry and free from pests. Apart from protecting your house from strangers and enemies, fence posts separate the yard from your neighbors, establish a private screen, prevent your pets from running hither and thither, and protecting your vegetable garden from animals. These are just a few of the many reasons for setting up fence posts. With the following text, learn how to install fence posts easily.

How To Set Fence Posts

Setting Fence Posts in Mud

Materials Required

Mattock
Post Hole Digger
Level
Shovel
Iron Tamping Rod

Procedure

To plant a fence post, you must dig out mud equivalent to 1/3 of the average length of the fence post. Break up the toughest mud using a mattock and remove the loosen dirt with a post hole digger. You should have a round hole to firmly place the fence post. Pile the dirt next to the hole you have just dug.
Place the fence post in the hole and hold it in an upright and level position. Place a level adjacent to the post and check whether the fence post is straight or not. Adjust accordingly.
Push back the dirt into the hole using the shovel. Fill the hole about halfway up.
Pack the dirt down into the hole using an iron tamping rod. Continue tamping until the hole is completely compacted.
Add more dirt, if required, to compact the hole and level the dirt to the nearby areas. Repeat the process of adding dirt and tamping until the hole is completely stuffed with solidly compacted earth.
Following the same procedure, set the other fence posts in the same level.

Setting Fence Posts in Concrete

Materials Required

Mixed bags of concrete (a combination of cement and gravel will also do)
Post Hole Digger
Mason’s Level
Shovel
Iron Tamping Rod
Rocks
Bracing

Procedure

Depending upon the number of fence posts you are setting up, you will require the number of concrete bags. You can easily set up one fence post using half a bag.
Using a shovel, dig out a hole measuring two feet deep.
Set the fence post in the hole and check its level and straightness by placing a mason’s level next to it in the hole. Support the fence post with rocks and bracing. Check the level a couple of times since bumps are likely to push the fence post out of its place.
When you are sure of the level and straightness of the fence post, start putting dry concrete in the hole. Start tamping the concrete with an iron tamping rod until the hole is fully packed and turns hard.
After you are done with tamping the concrete, check the fence post to ensure it is straight up, vertical and in level.
In case you are facing problems with leveling, you can support the bracing with nail support sticks measuring 2x2 or 2x4.
Remove the bracing once the concrete has hardened. This is done by pouring water into the hole stuffed with dry concrete.
Pour water slowly so that it has enough time to seep through. Make sure that the entire concrete has been soaked in.
Allow the concrete to dry completely for a few days, before you remove the bracing.
Meanwhile, set up other fence posts so that all of them can dry in the same amount of time.

These are two methods of setting fence posts around your house. While installing them, make sure that all the steps have been followed carefully so that you do not have to remove the fence posts and re-install them all over again.

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