Thread: Fencing suggestions

re the post holes mate - I had rock hard compacted clay about a foot down - so dug down to that and then tipped a bucket of water in and left it overnight - easy to dig out the remaining 1/2 foot the next day just using a post hole digger.


Depends how quickly you want it done - I wasn't in a rush.


D

Hire a petrol post hole digger?

http://www.coateshire.com.au/landsca...-diggers-hire/

I purchased a Chinese cheapie off evilbay and it does the job.

As for your 4x4 treated pine posts, make sure that they are rated for in ground.(H4) Most 4x4that I have seen is H3 rated which is for above ground only.

Most round treated pine posts are rated H4.

As for pouring water in the hole. This works well if the soil has drainage.
Some parts of my place the soil is like concrete. I dig a bit, fill with water and come back a few hours latter.

If the water has all drained the digging is easier. If the hole is still full of water the hole will be just as hard as if there was no water.

This is the sort of ground that would be good for your shipping container.

Originally Posted by d2dave

I purchased a Chinese cheapie off evilbay and it does the job.

As for your 4x4 treated pine posts, make sure that they are rated for in ground.(H4) Most 4x4that I have seen is H3 rated which is for above ground only.

Most round treated pine posts are rated H4.

As for pouring water in the hole. This works well if the soil has drainage.
Some parts of my place the soil is like concrete. I dig a bit, fill with water and come back a few hours latter.

If the water has all drained the digging is easier. If the hole is still full of water the hole will be just as hard as if there was no water.

This is the sort of ground that would be good for your shipping container.

Thanks Dave - I'd forgotten about the H3/H4 thing. With my luck I'm guessing the ones I grabbed from Bunnings are going to be H3

With only 5 posts I figured the petrol borer was hard to justify. SWMBO already thinks I'm soft.
I got the holes half dug tonight after work and left them filled with water. Will see what they are like tomorrow night.

And yes - its the same area the container is now sitting in.

Steve

I have seen people (on the internet) wrap the post bottom in plastic to protect it from rotting before pouring in the concrete. The water trick works well as other suggest - you can also keep adding water bit by bit as you continue to dig (dig a bit, poor in some water, dig more) but you can't really beat a post digger.

Edit. Sorry wrong steve...

A bit late now you have the holes partly dug but the method used depends on the location. I did a lot of fence repair/building after the Black Saturday fires of 2009, round treated pine poles for gate posts, corners and something to strain the wire against, then it was star pickets driven into the ground. In a straight line you could put a pine pole every five or so star pickets.

Hole digging done with a hydraulic auger on a Bobcat. My brother hires a Dingo with an Auger when ever he has done fencing or retaining wall building.

The chicken wire type fence is best to keep the dogs in and slow the rabbits down a bit, put your posts in, drill through the posts closest to the side you want to run your wire along and run the single strand wires through the post, you can nail them to the side of the post but running through the post will be better in the long run.

The chicken wire should be around 900mm high, or you can get higher if needed. Run a single strand wire through your posts at the height of the top of your chicken wire, the Middle and the bottom so you can tie the chicken wire off at different points along the fence. If you want a higher fence you make the post say 1200 high and run some single strands above the chicken wire for the extra height, or barbed wire if needed.

When it comes time to put the chicken wire up fix it to the post at one end, wrap around and then use a few gal staples then roll it out to the other end and to make a make shift strainer for that type of wire get some timber board the wider of the wire, screw the boards together past the end of the bench clamping the wire between the boards, use a few screws staggered along the board. The fix a length of chain longer than the board at each each end of the board so it can be pulled out from the centre to form an a-frame trailer drawbar type set up. Then you can use the winch on your lands or a hand winch off a tree to pull the chicken wire tight and starting from the fixed end work your way along and using staples fix it to the posts and with short lengths of tie wire fix it to you single strands. When you get to the last post fix it to the post with the staples then release your strainer and cut it off with enough to spare to wrap around the post and add som extra staples.

Old sump oil pored on the posts helps preserved them to, you can brush it on with it diluted down with some kero or something aswell, with enough coats it soaks in and the colour isn't to bad either

Hope that made sense.