new fence ,concrete posts moving .

[snuggly]

i had a new fence put up last june. its 140ft long down the side and about 50ft long at the back. i have feather edge panels which are 6ft,with 8ft concrete posts and concrete gravels board. post crete was used in about 2ft holes. i live rural so get strong winds. but during storm doris i saw my fence just waving about in the wind. rang the fence guy who said he would come over and check the posts with a sprit level. i told him the whole fence was out of alignment. this morning i found the fence along the bottom of my garden was even worse two panels really leaning and i could move these posts . this fence guy has already said we dont get storms like storm doris that often and the only way to stop it is to put some braces or something like that.
i dont know anything about fencing but i dont want fobbing off either .
so before he turns up has anyone any ideas how to correct the concrete posts and make them stronger in the ground so they dont move. what ever is done it has to be done from my side as i have a hostile neighbour. and is it reasonable that in storms like doris that the concrete posts moved or should they had stayed stronger. this fence guy tried telling me with the constant moving with the winds they loosen in the ground.

 

[r896neo]

It comes down to 2 things.

1. Was the fence installed correctly? I.e were the post holes actually 2 feet, was the concrete properly set etc.

2. Was the fence installed suitable for the job? An exposed rural location a solid panelled fenced is about the worst choice.

It now comes down to who decided on the fence type. If you insisted on the 6ft panels then the responsibility lies with you. If not then id say its his fault.

If I had quoted on this job and you asked for 6ft solid panels I would have advised you to go with hit and miss board and rail type fence. If you insisted on the panels I would have warned you in writing it was at your own risk.

Oh and there is no fix for loose posts they must be removed and redone

 

[snuggly]

thanks for replying. ive been round my village and looking at fences with solid panels including some down my street and they are fine. now this is going to sound a daft question but would drilling holes in the panels reduce the wind against them ? just along near the tops . the reason i had solid panels was my neighbour that side is a nasty bit of work. the first time i had my fence put up within half a hour of the workmen leaving he pushed and lent on every panel sending it all out of alignment(court case still going on as i caught it all on cctv). i had to have all the fence took down new holes dug etc.
so when storm doris was causing my fence to sway and move etc another neighbour told me he was outside in his garden laughing .
i know my fence guy told me the other day the only way to stop it is to put a brace in but it involves alot of work.

 

[Doggit]

I put in a fence with 6ft panels about 12 years ago, and it's survived until Doris came a calling, and we're down in Kent, so got far less than you did. One panel went, and 2 posts, and one post was uprooted, so there is a lot to what he says. At the end of the garden, where the wind comes across and open field, I played safe, and put in 120mm 9ft posts, and these survived okay. The grounds also wet at the moment, so won't have the structural strength of dry summer ground, but whereas all contingencies should be taken into account, we do have the worst of all possibilities at the moment.

It may be that you've got to use concrete (rather than postcrete) and make sure they go down another 6" at least when they are reset. You also need to keep an eye out as to why this section failed, and the rest survived, and see what differences you can spot.

 

[dpsservices]

i had a new fence put up last june. its 140ft long down the side and about 50ft long at the back. i have feather edge panels which are 6ft,with 8ft concrete posts and concrete gravels board. post crete was used in about 2ft holes. i live rural so get strong winds. but during storm doris i saw my fence just waving about in the wind. rang the fence guy who said he would come over and check the posts with a sprit level. i told him the whole fence was out of alignment. this morning i found the fence along the bottom of my garden was even worse two panels really leaning and i could move these posts . this fence guy has already said we dont get storms like storm doris that often and the only way to stop it is to put some braces or something like that.
i dont know anything about fencing but i dont want fobbing off either .
so before he turns up has anyone any ideas how to correct the concrete posts and make them stronger in the ground so they dont move. what ever is done it has to be done from my side as i have a hostile neighbour. and is it reasonable that in storms like doris that the concrete posts moved or should they had stayed stronger. this fence guy tried telling me with the constant moving with the winds they loosen in the ground.

How many bags of post Crete did he use ? If it was only 1 bag per hole then that's your problem or installers problem

 

[snuggly]

not sure but i know it was a bag but dont know if it was more. but i'm getting fed up now with my fence as there are other closed board fences just a few doors away that was ok after the storm. got a feeling he is going to blame the storm for the damage. would had done the job myself but would have no one to help me lift the panels in and out.

 

[Ian H]

If you have an 8ft post with 6ft panel and 1ft gravel board you must only have 1ft buried.

 

[LeadFarmer]

If I had a 6ft panel with 1ft gravel board Id want at least 2.5ft of the post buried in the ground.

 

[LeadFarmer]

would had done the job myself but would have no one to help me lift the panels in and out.

It could perhaps be done without having to lift the panels up high to drop them down between the posts, by setting a post in the ground, installing the gravel board, placing the fence panel in position along with the next post etc etc.