Fence: Part 4a - Posts

I was able to grab some time on Sunday and begin installing the 4x4 pressure treated fence posts. They are eight feet long, and I'll be cutting them to the correct height at the very end. Installing the posts was surprisingly easy.

Step 1: Insert 4x4 into the stake sleeve

Step 2: Plumb the post using a post level

Step 3: Use a cordless driver to the screw post into the sleeve

I found I could make some minor plumb adjustments buy pushing and pulling on the installed post since it's basically just a big lever. It'll be interesting to see if this will mean than the fence is less stiff over the course of it's life.

After installing the posts at each end of the run, I ran a string line at the base of the fence and at six feet (the finished height of the fence. I also measured the slope of the fence over the course of the run and found that there's a two foot change in elevation. This was surprising as it sure doesn't look like that much of a slope.

Installing the rest of the posts was as easy as the first two, and the string lines made it even easier. Four of the post stakes turned out to be a little more out of line than I was comfortable with so I cut a 1/4" rabbet in the base of the post to pull it more in line with the fence. I'll go back later and insert a filler piece into the sleeve so that the post/sleeve fit is tight. I'll also stain and seal the rabbet.

It feels good to see a straight line of plumb posts. It reminds me of the summer when I was fourteen and worked on my father's fence crew. My primary duty was to empty the post holes with my post hole digger after the two-man auger team finished making the hole. But I also got to stretch a lot of chain link fencing, mix cement, and shovel gravel.

 Post level on a plumb post.

I used #10 x 1 1/4" square drive pan head stainless steel tapping screws. There are sixteen per post.

 Here's a photo of the full run of posts that I got done. I still have two more to do in this run.

 Another angle of the run.

And here's a photo of the rabbet. The glacial gravel in the dirt caused a few of the post stakes to wander a little durning jack hammering (about a quarter to a half of an inch). The rabbet on the post base helps lessen the alignment issue. But I'm also being a bit OC. My understanding is that a quarter of an inch is an acceptable tolerance.

Fence: Part 3 - Post Stakes

I spent the weekend after the fourth of July installing the fence post stakes. I rented an electric seventy pound jack hammer for the two days and was able to do fourteen stakes on Saturday and the final twelve on Sunday. I had already purchased the driver kit, and it fit the jackhammer (I'd neglected to bring it with me when I rented the jack hammer).

The process wasn't too hard.

1.  String the fence line.

2.  Measure where the fence post stake is going to be.

3.  Use a sledge hammer to start the stake.

4.  Lift the jack hammer two feet into the air and into the stake sleeve (make sure the spacer is already in the stake sleeve).

5.  Jack hammer the stake into the ground. Stop and check your post level every one to two inches. Make adjustments to the rotation and plumbness as necessary.

The videos on the Ozco Building Products website were definitely helpful. But there's a learning curve. The first two stakes went in easy (less than five minutes a piece). The third and fourth stakes were much harder, but a lot of that was likely due to tree roots. Those two stakes ended up being a little wonky and I'll have to tune those posts for plumbness and alignment differently.  

Here I am jack hammering the corner stake in. This was the second stake. 

I used a large clamp to twist the stake sleeve into alignment. 

I installed a post on this stake so I could string the fence line again.

Here's a photo of some of the tools I used.

1. The jack hammer came with it's own hand truck. SO NICE!
2. Large clamp to use as a wrench.
3. Sledge hammer and sacrificial 4x4 for setting the stake.
4. Post level (an absolute must have). It rubber-bands to the post or stake for hands-free operation.
5. Jack hammer spacer for easy stake sleeve insertion.
6. Tape measure.
7. String.
8. Toy trumpet.
9. Don't pay attention to the hacksaw. I didn't use it for anything.

Using the sledge hammer to set the stake. 

Jack hammering the stake in. 

I'm doing a return on the fence to receive a large gate. I had to remove the retaining wall blocks to install the stake. I'll rebuild the retaining wall when the post is installed.

I added two stakes at the end of the driveway. They're not connected to the fence but will instead serve as a location for the address numbers. 

I'm going to install a double swing gate at this location. I'm going to have returns on the fence to stiffen the posts, too. This is where the garbage cans will live.

Panorama of the fence line. 

 I also decided to install the stakes along the section of "fence" behind the shed. The little "fence" is in pretty bad shape. I used my digging bar to lift/pry the fence out of the way (it just sits on the ground).

After returning the jack hammer, I picked up the posts that I'll be using. Pressure treated 4x4's are so HEAVY!

Fence: Part 2 - Demolition

I grabbed some time on the 4th of July and tore down the old crappy fence. It was really quite easy. And my four-year-old helper was very well behaved.

before                                                  after

My helper wasn't happy that I wouldn't let him beat on our neighbor's fence. But he collected all the nails I pulled out of the old fence and wore his ear protection all on this own.

The 2x4 rails are rotten and going to the dump. The fiberglass panels brittle and also going to the dump. The posts are all cedar half and quarter logs and aren't painted or stained. I could throw them in the yard waste bin or keep them for the four-year-old to play with.

There was only on post that was cemented into the ground (out of seven). The rest were just sitting on the surface of the ground. One had a t-post holding it up. The wood at the base of the concreted post had rotted away decades ago so now there's just a nice hole in the ground. I'm debating whether I should dig out the concrete or not. (I probably won't and just fill the hole with dirt.)

Here's another view of the area where I removed the fence. The neighbor's fence is in sad shape, but the posts are generally in okay shape. I'll be installing a post of my own at the end of my fence and not using his post.