c/fence-erectors

That trench digging shortcut I keep seeing fail on chain link jobs

I drive by at least 3 fence sites a week where guys try to save time digging post holes by angling the auger instead of clearing rocks first. I saw it happen twice last month on a job in Akron where a guy snapped a $120 auger bit on a buried chunk of limestone. The foreman told him "you clear the path, not force the machine." It ends up taking longer because you gotta replace the bit and still dig the hole right. Why do people keep skipping the basic rock removal step when it costs more in the long run? Has anyone else seen this shortcut backfire on a site?

Just read a stat about fence post depth that seems off to me

I was looking at some old code specs from the county building department. They say for a 6-foot wood privacy fence, posts only need to be 24 inches deep in our soil. I've always gone 36 inches, minimum. My old boss drilled that into me. Says it prevents frost heave and keeps the line true. But the official code says less. Which way is right? Are you guys following code to the letter or going deeper on your own jobs?

Had a job in a new subdivision where every single post hole hit a rock the size of a microwave.

It was over in the Pine Ridge development. We were putting up a basic cedar fence, maybe 150 feet. The ground looked fine, but the first hole, bam, solid granite about two feet down. Thought it was a fluke. Second hole, same thing. By the fifth one, we knew we were in for it. The boss didn't want to move the line, so we spent three days with a demo hammer and a spud bar just to get twelve holes dug. My arms were jelly by Wednesday. What do you guys do when you run into a whole yard of buried boulders like that? Just eat the time or try to talk the client into a different spot?

Unpopular opinion: Hitting 500 linear feet in a single day with a two-man crew is a bad goal

We did it last Thursday on a chain link job in Omaha, and it just meant we skipped double-checking every post for plumb. Speed over quality is how you get a call back in six months when the whole line sags. Anyone else think these 'milestone' numbers push the wrong kind of hustle?

My old boss in Austin swore by using a 9-gauge wire for all chain link, but after a storm last spring took out 300 feet of our fence, I'm convinced 11-gauge is just asking for trouble.

He always said the extra cost wasn't worth it, but replacing that whole section proved him wrong, so what's the heaviest gauge you all actually use on residential jobs?

Heard a guy at the supply yard in Tacoma say he never uses a string line for a straight run

He was bragging about just eyeballing his posts for a 50-foot section of privacy fence. Said it saved him twenty minutes a job. I tried that once on a short run and the whole thing had a wave you could see from the street. How do you even trust your own eye that much? What's the fastest you've ever seen someone mess up a simple job by skipping a basic step?

Had to pick between a 6 foot cedar fence or an 8 foot vinyl one for a client in Bellingham last month.

Spotted a beautiful cedar fence on a walk through the Arboretum

I was walking through the Washington Park Arboretum yesterday and saw this amazing cedar fence along a new garden path. The pickets were cut with a slight curve at the top, and the whole thing was set on a gravel base with perfect drainage. It looked like they used 6x6 posts, which is overkill for a garden fence but man, it looked solid. Has anyone else done a curved-top picket job like that, and what's the best way to cut them without a ton of waste?

Shoutout to the crew that helped me finish a 300-foot cedar fence in Portland after our main truck broke down.

We had to rent a smaller truck and hand-carry every post and panel from two blocks away, but the homeowner brought us coffee and pizza and we still finished a day early.

I finally gave up on that cheap post hole digger from Harbor Freight

Bought it for a job in Tempe last spring, thought I'd save a hundred bucks. The handle snapped clean off after maybe fifteen holes. Had to rent a proper one for two days, cost me $85 plus the lost time. Anyone got a brand that can actually handle rocky soil without breaking?

Honestly, my brand new post driver's head flew off on the third swing in a client's yard in Boise.

Hot take: I thought a 4-inch post hole was fine for a 6-foot privacy fence in clay soil, but a storm proved me wrong.

I did a job in Springfield where the client wanted to save money, so we used a 4-inch auger for the posts instead of my usual 6-inch. A big wind storm last month knocked over three sections because the posts had no real grip. Should I have just walked away from the job, or is there a way to make a smaller hole work in tough dirt?

A homeowner in Phoenix changed my mind about chain link fences

I was setting a 6-foot chain link for a backyard job last month, and the client asked me why I never suggested a vinyl coating. I told him it was just extra cost for no real gain, but he showed me his neighbor's 15-year-old coated fence that looked brand new while the bare galvanized ones nearby were rusting. Who knew a simple coating could add that much life, or is it just a desert climate thing?

Found out the world's longest fence is over 3,400 miles long

I was reading about the Dingo Fence in Australia and it blew my mind that it's that long. Makes my 200-foot backyard installs feel pretty small. Anyone else know a crazy fence fact?

Remember when we used to hand-dig every post hole? I had a week in '08 that changed my mind.

We were putting in a split-rail fence on a farm near Springfield, and the ground was pure clay. After two days of busted spades and blisters, the owner let us use his old tractor-mounted auger. We finished the whole 300-foot run in an afternoon. Anyone else have a job that finally made you switch to a power tool?

Had a customer in Springfield ask me why I was digging post holes by hand when his neighbor used an auger. He said, 'You're making this way harder on yourself, man.'

TIL a huge chunk of fence posts rot at ground level because of a capillary effect I never knew about.

Read it in an old agricultural extension bulletin from Iowa State, says moisture wicks up wood like a straw. Anyone else run into this and have a good fix besides just using metal posts?

Warning: I was setting post concrete in the rain for years until a city inspector in Charlotte shut me down.

Saw a fence in Sedona that looked like it was built by a ghost

I was out there last month checking out the red rocks and saw this old ranch fence. The posts were set at least 10 feet apart, and the wire was just looped around them with no tension. It was sagging so bad a rabbit could have walked under it without ducking. Who builds a fence that can't even keep out a determined breeze? Has anyone else seen a fence that made you wonder what the builder was thinking?

Watch out for that new 'self-leveling' post hole mix

Saw a crew using it on a job in Phoenix last month. They swore it saved them an hour on a 50-post run. I was totally skeptical, thought it was just marketing junk. Tried a single bag on a small repair job last week. Stuff actually works, sets level without any fuss. It's not cheap, about $22 a bag. Anyone else test this stuff on a bigger install yet?

I gave up on the 'perfect post hole' rule for a week and my work got faster

Everyone says you need to dig each post hole exactly 36 inches deep, no matter what. I was setting a line of fence in a really rocky part of my town last month, and hitting solid rock at about 28 inches on half the holes. The usual fix is to rent a breaker, which adds time and cost. So, for a 50-foot section, I just set those posts at 28 inches and packed the heck out of the concrete, making a wider base. I was sure it would fail. A big storm came through two weeks later with crazy wind, and that section held just as firm as the deeper ones. It made me think we might be too rigid with the rules sometimes when the ground is tough. When have you all adjusted the 'right way' because the site forced your hand?

I used to think those cheap plastic post levels were a joke, but after fighting a leaning gate for an afternoon, I finally tried one from a job site toolbox.

It saved me from having to reset two 4x4 posts on a cedar fence project in Dallas because I caught the lean before the concrete set, so what other simple tools have you guys found that actually pull their weight?

Had to pick between a 6-foot and 8-foot post for a sloped job in Tacoma

Client's yard dropped a solid 18 inches over 20 feet. Could either step the fence or rack it. Went with stepping, using the 8-footers for the low side. Took an extra day to set all the step-downs right. Anyone have a better method for a slope that steep?

Vent: A job in Phoenix last summer made me switch up my concrete mix for good.

The heat was so bad the standard bag mix was setting before I could get the post plumb. I started adding a retarder and mixing with cold water, which gave me the extra 5 minutes I needed. Anyone else in a hot climate have a go-to mix adjustment?

Remember when we all used to set posts with a sledge and a level?

Had a job in Austin last spring where the ground was pure rock. Tried the old way first, took us a full day for ten holes. Next day, rented a gas-powered post driver. Finished the other forty posts before lunch. The difference in speed and how straight they set was huge. Anyone still using a sledge for a whole run, or is that just for repairs now?