Hardwood Fence Posts & Concrete Spurs

[tombutler]

Greetings,

On the back border of our property we have currently have a wire mesh fence. I'm looking to install a featheredge fence in front of this for some privacy.

Firstly (now this may be folly, please don't laff ) I was thinking about attaching horizontal battens (as substitue to arris rails) to the concrete post which are rock solid, onto which I would nail the boards to.

- Can you screw into these posts? If so what would be required bolts rather than rawplugs

- Secondly the distance between the post centres is approx 330 cm. Is this too great a span?

Assuming the above is no-goer I'm looking at wooden fence posts or concrete spurs.

- The big sheds sell treated softwood posts. But do hardwood posts generally last longer than softwood posts? Is there a great deal of difference in price between the two types?

- Do Hardwood posts require any treatment before inserting them into the ground. Eg. the Cuprinol Green treatment as recommended by JohnD (I think) that I read about in another thread.

- If usings spurs (or do some refer to them as godfathers ) must you only use concrete or can you also use the quicker setting method using postcrete.

- For a 6ft high fence, will a 4ft long spur do with 2 ft above the ground and 2ft below. How many bolts holes are there typically on a spur?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,

T.

 

[JohnD]

you have concrete posts already in place?

Are they the sort designed for wire netting, or do they have slots or mortices?

It is such a lot of work getting them out that I would re-use if you can.

It is possible to paint them to match the woodwork if you like. I think it looks good but opinions differ.

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Spurs seem to have 2 bolt holes in them. I think these are 4-footers. Fence is a windy coastal location and has not blown down yet!

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If using a spur it is best to keep the wooden post off the ground or it will get damp and rot.

BTW if fastening rails to concrete posts, you want bolts, but big bolts are quite expensive. You can buy galvanised steel studding which you cut to length, works out cheaper and you can cut to perfect size. Slap a bit of paint on as they wil eventally rust.

 

[tombutler]

The posts are designed for wire mesh fencing so are not slotted unfortunately

Sorry, but I'm difficulty picturing the studding you are referring to John. Have you a link to an image?

I will try to get some photos of the fence and posts currently in situ if it helps.

Cheers.

 

[JohnD]

it's just a steel bar, say 10mm diameter, with a thread all the way along it.

Some people say "Allthreads"

Various lengths available from 500mm to 3m

You measure the length required and cut it to fit, put a nut on each end.

short packs are available in DIY sheds and hardware shops. The pack usually contains nuts as well. Ask for Galvanised Studding. It may be with the chains.

Concrete posts for mesh usually have a few holes through them.

 

[tombutler]

Cheers dude.

Any opinions on hardwood posts over softwood posts?

Plus, must you use concrete for the spur or can you use postcrete?

 

[Deluks]

You can simply fix 4x2 treated timber to the posts, these become your arris rails, albeit much stronger. Fixing them to the posts could be done by using bolts as John says, but there will need to be some sort of fixing holes in the posts, or you could use some kind of bracket around the whole post. Are the posts tapered by any chance? Thicker at the bottom than the top? I have an

The 4x2 should really be sloped along the top edge to assist water run-off. Can be planed or ripped with a circular saw set at an angle, or better still, run through a table saw.

No point in going for the expense of hardwood, especially if you aren't digging them in the ground. A few coats of a waterproof fencing treatment such as cuprinol will sort it, as will painting it every 3-5 years.

 

[tombutler]

Hi,

The fence currently in place is similar to the fence below, with posts tapered towards the top. The wire fence is on the outside so I have access to the flat side of the post, if you know what I mean

Are these drillable if there are not suitable holes?

I was enquiring about Hardwood posts if I had to do down the road of inserting posts into the ground if battens could not be fixes to the concrete posts. So either the fence will be:

- constructed using battens attached to the existing concrete posts and boards attached, or

- basically start from scratch and dig holes (slightly infront of the fence in place at the mo) and use concrete spurs or hardwood/softwood posts, arris rails and boards.

Cheers,

T.

 

[JohnD]

the mesh is often attached to the posts using holes in the concrete (otherwise it could be lifted out of the way)

Have you looked at your posts? Have they got holes in?

 

[Deluks]

You could use metal builders band...

...around the post, fixed to the 4x2 rail with a bolt either side (thru strap & rail)

...or a restraint strap...

which you would have to bend to fit the shape of the post.


Like John says, if the post has holes... and even if they're on the sides like in your pic, you could put a bolt straight through which holds a right angle bracket on each side.