How To Properly Install Wood Fence Posts

Alternatively use a laser to double check alignment when you re setting the posts.

How to properly install wood fence posts.

This is how to install a fence post a real easy and strong way that will last for years. Typically in part to ensure that posts lodge below the frost line experts call for a hole deep enough to submerge the bottom third of the post below ground. For a six foot tall post therefore. The laser should graze the outside edge of each post meaning when the post is slightly tilted to the outside it intercepts the beam.

Make sure the post you choose is labeled as suitable for ground contact. As a general rule posts should be set 8 on center 96 from the center of one post to the center of the next. Here s how to install new cedar fence posts and avoid the problems that made your old posts rot. To install a wood fence post use a durable wood that can withstand the local climate ask an expert at a nearby home improvement store if you aren t sure.

You ll also want a straight run so marking with a string line chalk or paint will help you dig in the right spot. Installing wooden fence posts solidly bracing your fence posts will help them stand up to the elements in addition to any pressure your livestock will put on. Three factors contribute to this early failure. How to mark a fence line and the post locations before building a fence.

Make the holes wide enough to fill with concrete. Cedar has a reputation for durability but unless a few guidelines are followed cedar posts can fail in as few as five years. Poor drainage low quality wood and poor protection against insect damage. If your building a fence or repairing a.

Since wood posts may rot over time apply a non water based brush on wood preservative like copper naphthenate first. After digging the post holes the posts should be braced and set in concrete before attaching the rails and pickets. The minimum recommended diameter is three times the width of the posts. Leave the string in position and set each post so that its outside edge just touches the string when it s level.