You’ve Been Setting Fence Posts Wrong This Whole Time

Comments · 254

• CA

  @calineman · 6 months ago

  As a lineman that sets utility poles on a daily. Its important to tamp the bottom of the hole before you put the post in. My apprentices cry when they have to hand tamp.

  6

• MI

  @mitchmiller1429 · 1 year ago

  Our insurance company sent us a letter telling us that our insurance is canceled because we didn’t have a fence. So we decided to quickly install a chain link fence. After watching one of your videos, we rented a Rhino post driver to install all of the fence posts. What a game changer! &nbsp;In a couple of hours, we had all the posts installed! In a couple of days, the fence was completed. Not bad for a couple of DIYers in our mid 60s.😅<br>Thanks for the great content!

  62

• AL

  @alexiphigenia1618 · 1 year ago (edited)

  Who knew a channel about fences could be so engaging? &nbsp;Well done. &nbsp;I look forward to these.

  47

• GR

  @greenspiraldragon · 1 year ago

  On the farm when we tamped the dirt around the post we would tamp some rocks around it too.

  13

• JU

  @justindeming3553 · 1 year ago

  We call that a tamping bar!

  12

• 24

  @24hourgmtchannel64 · 9 months ago (edited)

  I&apos;m in northern Illinois and my 19 year old 35 foot section of six foot cedar fence finally gave way during a ultra high windy day and I already had tried a few fixed prior as three posts were already rotted and cracked off. Even as a car guy and all things technical, up to that point, fences were a foreign subject. I&apos;m honestly far too old and out of shape to be hand digging multiple broken surface level posts out of the ground and had no idea of what to do other than to call a fence company out and spend three or more grand for a section of fence however your videos are invaluable to some like me who always wants to learn and has much satisfaction of doing it yourself so thank you. The other issue is this section in a back yard is in a drainage to back yard city drain so always subjected to water during rain or snow. I really like the galvanized metal posts you hammer straight into the ground from your other video and with being already retired and &nbsp;my wife finally retiring this month, we are looking to leave Illinois and are looking for a home in Wyoming for tax favorability and beautiful mountain scenery so if we find a home with several acres but no fence for our four legged kids, I am already pumped up to install my own cedar fence with metal posts and I haven&apos;t even fixed my current one yet lol. Of course it snowed a couple of days so I&apos;ll need to wait however thank you again for the lessons and inspiring me to be somewhat more confident to tackle the small section to get warmed up.

  3

• DU

  @dunckeroo1987 · 1 year ago

  I was taught pour some concrete in the bottom, pack with soil to about 3 to &nbsp;inches from the top, over pour some more and trowel a sloped rain cap. Add a cup or two of weld-a-bound glue to the mix so the concrete will actually stick to the wood. Judge how watery to make the mix by how damp or dry the soil is. &nbsp;Concrete drying out to soon can be as bad as a too watery a mix. Give the concrete a mist the next day if the soil is really dry.

  9

• JA

  @JamesZ1025 · 8 months ago

  I set 6 posts in concrete 48” deep from tractor supply 20 years ago. So far no issues

  3

• DO

  @dougsaroma · 1 year ago (edited)

  I mix quick-crete in 5 gallon buckets, perfect size for each bag. With a one man operation away from utilities it&apos;s hard to haul and deal with a wheelbarrow that&apos;s probably going to tip over at some point and waste a bunch of stuff. Much easier to get it poured down with a bucket. Other buckets with lids carry water to the spot. I use a drill with a mixer tool and a garden shovel and pour the mix in slowly. Always have an extra bucket handy in case one breaks, but just slip the good one under it if it happens. Treated round posts, too. Probably the wrong way, but so far so good. I&apos;ve had to pull some posts out ten years or so later to move fence lines, and they all looked fine. Bust the concrete off and reuse the posts almost as good as new. They really should make durable metal concrete small project concrete buckets with a lip on them for pouring that I could buy. That would be great. But buckets are still pretty cheap and I always have plenty on hand.

  6

• SW

  @swfswf50 · 1 year ago

  There is no way I tamp my posts as enthusiastically as you do; I would be buggered after two. I use a crowbar with a tamping knob on the end and its pretty heavy. 😀 Where I am in Australia, we use hardwood like Rosewood or Ironbark for fence posts.

  5

• UN

  @undertheradar9295 · 7 months ago

  The post driver needs a built-in leveling device so you don&apos;t have to stop all the time.

  6

• EP

  @ephemeralcreek · 6 months ago

  if you don&apos;t have one of those fancy tampers, you can turn your shovel upside down and hand tamp with the handle side....not as good, but good in a pinch. &nbsp;If the soil is really dry and you have some water, you can dampen the soil just a bit to make it compact even tighter, but don&apos;t add so much that it turns muddy and mushes...just a little damp. &nbsp;For sandy soil this moisture helps, if clay I think that it may work against you, but really not for sure on clay, luckily we don&apos;t have too much of that around here.

  1