A job in Tucson showed me how fast a bad post hole can ruin a fence line

I put up a cedar fence for a client last spring, about 80 feet long. We hit a patch of loose, sandy soil for two holes near the middle and I rushed them, not packing the concrete right. By August, those two posts had leaned over a full 3 inches, pulling the whole section out of line. The cause was the concrete not setting solid in that dry sand, so the posts had no real anchor. Has anyone else found a good trick for setting posts in really sandy ground?

4 comments

4 Comments

alicemurphy2mo ago

I used to just pour it straight in... but after seeing a post wobble like that, I'm a believer in mixing something in first.

amy_craig282mo ago

My buddy in Tucson lost a whole mailbox because he didn't mix anything into the sandy soil first.

diana_kim662mo ago

My uncle in Phoenix swears by mixing a bag of bentonite clay into the concrete for sandy spots. It acts like a glue.

sagecooper2mo ago

Watched a guy try to set a signpost in pure beach sand once. He used so much water trying to wet the mix it just washed away, left a slurry pit. Ended up having to dig a crater and use one of those giant sonotube forms to get any kind of hold.