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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?
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hayden_craig9510d ago
My buddy Nate put up a split rail fence on his property line using 4x4 corners. First big storm off the lake last spring pushed a whole section over like dominoes. The repair bill was way more than just using the right size post from the start. He swears by 6x6s for anything over four feet now. Some of that old advice just doesn't hold up when the weather gets serious.
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wendy82010d ago
Wondering if your uncle was building in a really sheltered spot. Like @hayden_craig95 mentioned with that lake storm, wind load is no joke. My old neighbor used 4x4s for a tall fence and we get these crazy downslope winds every winter. After a few years, every single corner post had a permanent lean. It wasn't a full blow-over, but the whole fence line looked wavy and wrong. Makes you think the old rule needs an update for how the weather is now.
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