Why I ditched concrete for gravel in fence post bases

I used to think concrete was the only solid choice for setting posts. But after seeing metal posts rust out from trapped water, gravel lets the ground drain and saves the job. Have you tried this in wet areas?

4 comments

4 Comments

susansingh3mo ago

That point about wet areas hits home. My neighbor had his deck posts set in concrete right against the house, and the bottom of the joist totally rotted from splash back. When the contractor fixed it, he used crushed stone in the bottom of the new post holes to keep water away from the wood. It made me look at my own soggy side yard differently.

jakeb813mo ago

My old fence line was a swamp every spring and those concrete-set posts were toast in seven years. Pulled them out and the bottoms were mush. Switched to drainage gravel and a proper tamping method for the new ones. Five seasons later and they're still solid as the day they went in, even after heavy rains. That swap was a total game changer for wet ground.

park.miles3mo ago

I mean, @susansingh's right, gravel saves posts in wet ground.

shanef342mo ago

Wait, concrete-set posts were toast in just seven years? That's wild. I always figured concrete was basically forever. Seeing them come out as mush would freak me out. Makes you wonder how many fences are rotting away right now because we all just defaulted to pouring a bag in the hole.