Fence post base protection

Might be best to saw the rotted posts at ground level (leaving the old concrete) then start your new fence with a half-length panel and place the new fence posts mid-way between the old ones.

i have always put a few inch of gravel in the bottom of holes before concreting. it allows any water that gets in between the post and concrete to drain away. And then i use a mix of concrete that isn't to wet that it fills the gravel holes, but that is sloppy enough to compact into the hole without too much tamping. float off the top to encourage any surface water to run away from the post.

each to their own but it makes posts last a bit longer in comparrison to full on sloppy post crete mix thrown in. seasonal creosort is a must regardless too

Why not use post spikes? keeps the base of the wood off the ground so prevents rot

because the posts wobble in those spikes.

And they seldom drive true and vertical.

Well I've got the posts replaced.

Pulled the old stumps out and dropped the new wood posts into the existing concrete foundations.

Coated the post bottoms in engines oil and wrapped with bin liner to keep the damp soil off them which was the cause of them rotting.

On how to remove the old post stumps -

If they're not rotted in the concrete, a M12 200mm coach bolt screwed in to the stump and rope tethered to the head. Other end tied to a length of wood acting as a beam and pulled up and out with a trolley jack.

If the post stump is rotted, a 4ft crow bar with the straighter end sharpened to make a chisel so the stump can be hacked out.

Got x15 5L tubs of dark oak OneCoat from Wilko to do the whole fence. Ordered online and delivered to the local store. Their warehouse put all the tubs in separate boxes and even padded them out with brown paper. The irony is, they sent me an email to advise of them being ready to collect with a comment in the message about considering the environment before printing it.