c/fence-erectors

Showerthought: I used to set all my posts by hand until a job in Bend changed my mind

For years, I'd dig every hole, set every post, and mix the concrete in a wheelbarrow. Then I took a big job on a sloped lot in Bend, Oregon, and rented a gas-powered auger and a mixer for the first time. We finished the whole 150-foot run in two days instead of four. Has anyone else made a switch like that, and what tool changed your speed the most?

Had to choose between using a 4-foot level or just eyeballing it on a tricky slope job in Phoenix last Tuesday.

I went with the level, but the client's dog kept trying to bury his favorite chew toy right where I was setting each post, so every measurement took twice as long.

Back in '08 we used to set posts with just a shovel and gravel

We'd dig, drop a few inches of gravel, set the post, and pack dirt around it. Did a job in that new subdivision off Route 9 last fall where the spec called for a full 18 inches of concrete in a proper bell-bottom hole for every single post. The difference in how solid that fence feels, even after a rough winter, is night and day. No wobble, no frost heave, nothing. Anyone else made that switch and noticed how much longer your work holds up?

Update: I compared setting a 50-foot line with string versus a laser level on a sloped lot in Denver last week.

The laser gave us perfect post alignment in under an hour, while the string method took half a day and still needed constant adjustment due to the grade, so what specific jobs do you all still use string for?

A client in Phoenix asked me to build a fence without any posts

He was convinced he could save money by just sinking the panels into the ground with concrete. I had to explain how wind load works on a six foot privacy fence, especially during their monsoon season. He kept saying, 'But it's just a wall, why does it need legs?' I finally got through by showing him a picture of a fence I fixed after it blew over in a storm last July. Has anyone else had to talk a customer out of a truly bad idea like that?

Rant: That 'budget' post hole digger cost me a whole day

I grabbed a cheap manual digger for a small backyard job in Springfield last week, thinking I'd save $80 over renting a power auger. The ground was way harder than it looked (full of old roots and rocks) and I spent over 8 hours fighting with it, barely getting three holes done. My back is killing me and I lost a full day's pay on another job. Anyone have a decent rental spot they trust for tougher soil?

I finally understood why old timers always check the frost line

Was putting in a cedar fence in Duluth last November, hit what I thought was solid ground... until the first hard freeze. Woke up to three posts leaning like drunks. The frost heave was a solid 4 feet down. Anyone else in a cold climate have a go-to depth they swear by?

Watched a guy set a post with the gravel at the bottom of the hole

I was grabbing coffee at a gas station near a new build and saw a crew putting up a privacy fence. The guy digging the holes was putting the gravel in first, then setting the post on top of it. I almost yelled out the window, man. That's backwards. You set the post, then pack the gravel around the base for drainage before the concrete. If the gravel's on the bottom, water just sits in that little pocket and rots the wood faster. I learned that the hard way on a job in Springfield about five years ago when we had to replace a whole line of posts after just two winters. It's a small thing, but it makes a huge difference for how long the fence stands up. Anyone else see this mistake a lot, or am I just unlucky?

Just finished a cedar fence in Boise that went from a 3-day estimate to a clean 2-day install.

Switching to a power auger for the post holes instead of my old manual digger saved me a full day of backbreaking work and let me get ahead of schedule for once.

Saw a fence in my neighborhood leaning hard after just one season

The crew set the posts in pure clay without any gravel or drainage. We got a wet spring here in Ohio, and the whole line shifted like a wave. I know because the homeowner called me to fix it, and we had to pull eight posts. Has anyone else seen this happen with certain soil types?

Remember when we just eyeballed post hole depth?

Got called out by an inspector on a job in Tempe about 5 years ago. He said my 30 inch holes were more like 26. Started using a marked digging bar that same day. Now I check every single one, no guesswork. Anyone else have a simple tool that saved them from a dumb mistake?

Heard a guy at the lumber yard say you should always set posts in concrete, no matter what

I was grabbing a load of cedar in Tacoma last week and overheard this old-timer telling a new guy to always use concrete for every single post. I've been doing this for a while, and I gotta say, I think that's bad advice for a lot of jobs. For a basic privacy fence on good, dry soil, a gravel base with proper tamping works just fine and actually drains better (which stops rot). Poured concrete can trap water against the wood and cause it to fail way faster. Has anyone else had a fence fail because the posts rotted out inside a concrete collar?

Question about setting posts in clay soil

My buddy who's been doing this for 20 years told me to just dig the hole and set the post, no gravel needed, because the clay would pack tight and hold it. I tried that on a job in Springfield last month, and after a heavy rain, three of the eight posts were leaning. I had to go back and pull them, put in a 6-inch gravel base for drainage, and reset them. It cost me a whole afternoon. Has anyone else found a better method for clay, or is gravel the only way to go?

A thank you from a customer in Fort Wayne that I still think about

It was a big cedar fence job last fall, about 300 feet total. The guy was nice but quiet, just watched me work from his porch most days. On the last day, after I cleaned up, he came out with a cold drink and just stood there for a minute looking at the line. He said, 'My dad built fences. You set those posts like he did, deep and straight. It's a good fence.' Didn't say anything else, just handed me the drink and went inside. That stuck with me more than any big tip. It was like getting a nod from the trade itself, you know? Anyone else have a small moment like that from a job that just felt right?

Question about setting a post in a tight corner in Charleston

I was setting a 4x4 in a back corner with only 18 inches of clearance and the auger bit jammed on a root, so I had to hand-dig the last foot with a digging bar and a small trenching shovel to get it set right.

Just counted 47 different fence post caps in my garage and it hit me

I was cleaning up after a job in Tempe and started sorting all the spare parts. When I got to the post caps, I actually stopped to count them. Forty-seven. Not just a few styles, but a whole mess of them - ball tops, flat tops, solar, even a few of those fancy pyramid ones. I've been doing this for twelve years, and I guess I just never threw any away from old jobs or leftover packs. It matters because it shows how much this trade is about the tiny details a homeowner never thinks about. They just see a fence. We're the ones who know that the right cap can stop water rot, or that a solar cap on a gate post is a nice touch. But honestly, having this many is just clutter. How do you guys handle leftover small parts? Do you keep a small stock or just toss them?

A customer in Boise asked me why I always start with the corner post first.

I was setting up a cedar fence line for them, about 150 feet total. They just came out and said, 'My dad always put the end posts in last, said it let him adjust the whole run.' I explained my method is to get that corner perfectly square and build off it. But it got me thinking, maybe I'm too rigid. Has anyone else changed their starting point on a job and had it work better?

My uncle told me to always use a 4x4 for corner posts, no matter the fence height.

He said, 'A 4x6 is just extra money for the same job.' I listened on a 6-foot privacy job in a windy part of town last fall. Sure enough, after a rough winter, two of my corners started leaning bad. Had to go back, pull them, and sink 4x6s instead. Cost me a full day's work and a tank of gas. Anyone else run into this, or was my uncle just lucky for 30 years?

Stopped by the old cemetery on Elm Street and the fence posts told a story

I was driving through a small town called Millbrook last weekend and pulled over to check out the local cemetery. I know, weird spot for a fence guy, but I always look at old work. The iron fence around the main plot had to be over a hundred years old. The posts were set in these huge, rough-cut granite blocks, not concrete. What got me was how they were set... each block was hand-chiseled with a slot for the post, and the iron was poured right into the stone. No rust at the base at all after all this time. The ground had settled all around them, but those posts hadn't moved an inch. It made me think about how we just drop a post in a hole and pour a bag of mix around it now. Has anyone ever tried setting a post in stone like that, or seen it done on a modern job? Seems like a ton of work, but the proof is right there.

Had to choose between cedar and pressure-treated for a big backyard job in Omaha last month. Went with cedar, cost me about $800 more but the client is over the moon.

A job in Portland made me rethink how I set posts on slopes

We were putting up a cedar fence on a steep backyard off Burnside, and my usual method just wasn't holding... the whole line started to lean after a heavy rain. An older contractor on the next lot saw me struggling and walked over. He showed me how to step and notch the posts into the hill, using a 4-foot level and a trick with a plumb bob I'd never seen. Anyone have a different way they handle grades over 15 degrees?

Question about setting a post line on a steep hill

I had a job in Asheville last month where the backyard sloped about 15 degrees. The big choice was whether to step the fence panels down the hill or to rack them to follow the slope. I've always been a stepper guy, it's clean and you get level panels. But the homeowner wanted a solid privacy fence for their dogs, and stepping leaves those gaps underneath. I decided to rack it for the first time on a slope that steep. It was a fight with the cedar panels, and I had to custom cut every post to match the angle. It took two full days longer than stepping would have. The final look is great and the dogs are secure, but the extra labor ate most of my profit. For those of you who have done both, when does racking a fence make sense over stepping it?

Changed my mind on using a skid steer for every post hole

For years, I thought a skid steer with an auger was the only way to go for any job over ten holes. It was fast, right? Then I took on a job in an old part of town with tiny backyards and fences right on the property line. The skid steer was just too big and clumsy. I ended up having to dig the last six holes by hand with a manual post hole digger, which I hated. But you know what? For those tight spots, the hand digger was actually faster overall because I wasn't fighting to get the machine in place. I saved about two hours on that half day job just by switching methods. It made me see that the 'best' tool isn't always the biggest one. Now I look at the site access first before I even load the skid steer. Anyone else find themselves going back to basic tools sometimes?

My uncle told me to always use a 3-inch auger for corner posts in Georgia clay

I argued that a 2-inch would be fine to save time, but after the first big rain last fall, three of my corners leaned like they were drunk. He was annoyingly right about needing that extra bite. What's the dumbest 'old timer' advice you ignored that came back to bite you?

Driving through the old part of town and saw a fence that's been standing for 50 years

I was over in the historic district last week, just looking at some of the old houses. I saw this one cedar fence that the homeowner said was put up in the 1970s. The posts were set in concrete and the whole thing was leaning maybe two inches, but it was still solid as a rock. What's the oldest fence you've seen that's still doing its job?