Cracked fence post

[JonSteggles]

I was intending to attach my gate to a newly erected concrete post using concrete screws, but while drilling the ‘pilot’ holes into the post for the hinges in question the post cracked and then a great chunk fell out.

The crack is not all the way round the post, and the chunk does not seem to have made any difference to the structural integrity of the post.

-was I wrong in trying to drill into a concrete fencepost?
-can I repair the damage?
-how should I hang my gate now?

I don’t want to go down the route of replacing the post as id have to dig up several freshly laid paving slabs and the post mix the post is sitting in.

Might annoyed to be honest and thanks in advance for any help offered.

 

[masona]

Any photo?

 

[JonSteggles]

photos of the crack and the missing chunk

 

[Richard C]

Fence posts are made from a strong mix with aggregate & steel reinforcing which I think you can just see in your 2nd pic. Thay are not meant to be drilled, it's now ****'d & will fall over in the next strong wind; if that doesn’t get it, the winter frosts will.

 

[JohnD]

it's ready for the skip

next time use a very sharp new bit, and go slowly. Or you may be able to get one with holes cast into it. How tall is it? "Spur" posts have holes for bolting wooden posts to, I use one for my side gate post (it will not rot like a wooden post in contact with the ground)

 

[JonSteggles]

bugger.

twas a brand new drill bit as well.

look like ill have to replace it.

 

[Richard C]

The problem is the stone aggregate in the strong cement mix; an ordinary masonry bit won’t go through stone & as soon as you hit one the vibration from the hammer action will invariably shock the cement & cause it to fracture. You could try a diamond tipped drill & drill very slowly but drill before you stick it into the ground as the same thing is very likely to happen again! You may find that even if you’re successful in drilling into the post, the holes will weaken it considerably & you may find it fractures in the first strong wind or when someone slams the gate!

Personally I would find another way of securing the gate; can’t you fit the hinges the other side (presumably to an external wall), that just leaves the problem of how to secure the latch. Or fit a slave timber post & fix the gate to that.

 

[JonSteggles]

slave timber post & fix the gate to that.

looklike im going to go down this route as the other side is also a fence post.

 

[JohnD]

How tall is it? "Spur" posts have holes for bolting wooden posts to, I use one for my side gate post

 

[JonSteggles]

How tall is it? "Spur" posts have holes for bolting wooden posts to, I use one for my side gate post

its sitting 6ft clear of the ground, was a 8 ft post

 

[JohnD]

I used a 5' concrete spur 50% in the ground, with a 6' wooden post bolted to it as a gatepost.

You can make the gateposts more secure by putting a transom in to hold the two heads together., that prevents them leaning together or apart and makes them more rigid. It need not be a very big section.

 

[masona]

Another idea is use decking which is the right width for the concrete post and treated batten then make a box section, just done my fence panels and made it higher without having to take the concrete posts out. A nice fat wooden post for your gate to hung

Where the panels slotted in the post put a decking timber across it.