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?

4 comments

4 Comments

viola_lopez302mo ago

Sounds like your fence wanted to join a downhill ski team.

drew_mitchell2mo ago

Ever try using a deadman anchor on the real steep parts? I had to do that on a slope in the West Hills and it saved the whole fence line. Basically buried a concrete block uphill and tied the post to it with cable.

murray.cora2mo ago

Actually that's a tension anchor, not a deadman. A deadman is a log or block buried in the ground to hold back soil. What you did is a solid fix for a pull-out force though.

morgan_king3616d ago

That plumb bob trick is fine and all but are people really out here losing sleep over a 15 degree slope? I've put fences up on way worse ground than that and just used extra gravel and compacted the hell out of it. Never had one fall over. Feels like this whole "steep slope fence crisis" is just contractor drama to sell people on overengineered solutions. The Burnside area has clay soil, sure, but if you dig deep enough and set the posts in concrete with some drainage gravel at the bottom, it's not going anywhere. I think people watch too many YouTube videos and get scared of dirt.