Fence is falling down!

[alan0259]

Just about to move in our first house and can't really afford a new fence until next year so was hoping to just fix the old one if possible

The problem is with the fence posts as you can tell from the picture, it looks like they've only been put in a few cm

This is probably the one that will pull the lot down.

Is it possible to just hit them deeper? Or do I have to start dismantling it?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Alarm]

TBH it looks rotten at the bottom.

One fix for the time being is a bit of metal welded so there is a L shape and you screw it to the post and the floor.

 

[KRB78]

yep defo rotton and will fall soon. If that one is bad then its a fair bet the rest wont be that far behind it.

I have a large post like that which is being held up by a piece of metal hammered down the back and screwed into the solid wood above.
It will hold till i can replace it with either a concrete or wooden one.

 

[alan0259]

Thanks chaps, i'll find some metal and get to work

 

[alan0259]

Right, managed to find a large solid steel L shaped bracket and this has propped it up properly

I'm now thinking of just replacing the gate with a wooden one and then replacing the fence next year.

If you look at the picture above, I'm assuming I would need to buy another fence/gate post and bolt this to the corner of my wall so that the end fence post (falling down) would line up with the new post, then I just need to buy a wooden gate and fix it to the new post.

Sound about right? Would you do it differently?

 

[wayneward25]

yea

 

[fistameeny]

Sounds like you have probably already got things sorted, but I've got a similar issue have been planning to remove the rotten posts and stick new Metpost repair spurs in, like these: Metpost fence post repair spur

 

[JohnD]

you have got the typical builders bodge, where they put a softwood post into a huge lump of concrete. The wood quickly rots away near ground level, where there is the right combination of water and air. That's why i am so keen on concrete posts.

It is an awful job to try to get the old lump of concrete out so you can fit a new post. Usually people try to run a new line of posts offset from the old ones so they can dig into fresh ground without having a huge lump of concrete in the way. The builders usually throw in so much that you can't even lift the concrete out of the hole without breaking it up.

On one occasion, I was drilling into the rotten stump, and managed to pull it out of the ground on the end of my drill (the heat of drilling had made it shrink slightly away from the concrete as it dried out). I was delighted to find I could slide a concrete repair spur down the hole, and trickle dry sand round it to prevent any wobble. I doubt you will be so lucky.

The Metposts tend to twist as you hammer them in.

 

[alan0259]

UPDATE!!!

Fence HAS fallen down!

The wind lately has been the worse I've ever seen, the wind has blown the fence so much that it's pulled the post from the ground and was found about 6ft from its hole

Took some pics whilst it was out and it's not how I imagined it, it doesn't look rotted, just more like they've put the post a few inch underground!!!

I've had a quick poke down the hole to see how deep it is and it only seems to go in a few inch (as much as the post went in before), so not sure if I'll be able to dig deeper and push the post down further.

Why would someone put a fence post in this way?!?!?!?!

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• alan0259
• 5 Jan 2012
• 1

Untitled

• alan0259
• 5 Jan 2012
• 1

Untitled

• alan0259
• 5 Jan 2012
• 1

 

[StephenW]

Your hole is a concrete-in type Metpost. It looks like the bottom of the post has been sat in the water and rotted away. It also looks like it might have been tapered before fitting - don't replicate that! If you get a new properly pressure treated fence post and hammer it into the hole (the bits that stick out the sides bite into the post) it will probably hold for a few more years until it too rots. Otherwise you've got some digging to do with a concrete breaker.

 

[dhutch]

Your hole is a concrete-in type Metpost. It looks like the bottom of the post has been sat in the water and rotted away. It also looks like it might have been tapered before fitting - don't replicate that! If you get a new properly pressure treated fence post and hammer it into the hole (the bits that stick out the sides bite into the post) it will probably hold for a few more years until it too rots. Otherwise you've got some digging to do with a concrete breaker.

Never seen a conreated in met post like that before, but i do agree it looks like said. I to would look at getting a replament presuretreated/tanalised post of the right size and hammering that into the metpost. It will then be as good as it ever was, with a lot less work than digging it all out and starting again, and should do many good years.


Daniel

 

[JohnD]

you might consider standing the bottom of the new post in a tub of Cuprinol wood preserver for a few days before fitting, it will soak in and prevent decay.

the pressure treatment is supposed to be quite good for building timber, but I don't think there is anything as effective as Cuprinol for timber in contact with wet hround.

you need the spirit-based wood preserver, not the fence stain.

Do any cutting or trimming before soaking.

 

[dhutch]

you might consider standing the bottom of the new post in a tub of Cuprinol wood preserver for a few days before fitting

do any cutting or trimming before soaking.

This is also not stupid if you have the time, certainly pretecting cut end-grain is a very good idea.

 

[maplegardenservices1]

The better option is to spend a bit of money on a "bolt down" meta post and a new 3 by 3 post.

The bolt down is a flat plate you bolt onto the floor with a square the post slots into, here are some examples:

http://www.click4garden.co.uk/Fencing-Accessories-c/#/Fencing-Accessories-c/page-2/

Bolt down, bolts and post will cost you at most about £20 and after that all you need is a drill to make holes in the concrete for the bolt down bolts a couple of spanners to tighten them and a few nails.

Oh and about a hour of you time.


Doing it this way also means the post will not rot as quick as its not in the ground.