Any decent fence needs some maintenance from time to time to keep it looking good and working properly. Experienced gardeners in Woking, Vieira Gardening Services, explains that one of the most important parts of a fence is its posts.
You might be in a situation where you are starting to see your fence lean a little bit. So, you are faced with the decision to either repair it or replace it.
Now once you see your fence leaning, you need to do some inspecting. Leaving a leaning fence post unchecked can cause serious damage to the entire fence later down the road.
That one leaning post could potentially pull down the rest of the fence with it. The cost of repairing that is not worth the headache and hole in your wallet. Sadly, fences are subject to everyday wear and tear from the elements.
The post could be rotten or broken, and just blow off course by a strong wind. Or the post could just be shallow.
According to Hunker, rot, at ground level, is the most common culprit of a leaning fence post because rainwater tends to collect near the base of the post.
Though the rot could also go as deep as the top of your concert anchor if you have one. It happens more readily when the post is not made from pressure-treated wood or because it wasn’t properly treated with preservatives when it was installed.
Your soil composition also affects how quickly your post decays. For example, sandy soil will be better at preserving your wood because it will drain away water quicker than say heavy clay soil.
Heavy clay soil can rot away fence posts within a year or two because it retains water more readily.
If the rest of your fence looks in pretty good shape and it’s just that one post that seems to be messed up, then you are in a good spot.
Obviously, you could leave the work up to the professionals and pay a few hundred bucks depending on the damage to the fence. And who knows you could get an untrustworthy guy who upcharges you and says that he needs to fix the entire fence.
Or you could do the work yourself. If you are anything like me, finishing up a DIY project is one of the best feelings ever.
The good thing is that fixing a fence post is a pretty easy project to take on. This is a list of stuff that you are going to need to get that fence post-fixed:
- A mutt, which is a tool to mix and level concrete.
- Fence-post concrete.
- Fence preservative.
- Two metal fence mender supports, one for each post.
- A shovel.
- A hammer.
- A chisel.
- A power drill.
- Deck screws.
- A drill bit that matches your deck screws.
- Safety goggles.
- Safety mask.
- 6-foot-long 2 by 4.
- Sturdy rope.
The first step is going to be to start clearing away the ground that is around the fence posts. You need to get a good visual of what’s going on with your fence post since it’s where the actual leaning is happening.
It could be just leaning or trying to snap apart. You should dig until you can see what the concrete looks like down there. There is a very good chance that you will have to go ahead repair the concrete and reset it.
If you don’t end up find the concert or if it looks like that you will be needing to replace the concrete, you should dig a six-inch hole around the fence post. If you aren’t able to do it on both sides, it will be fine.
You will be setting the concrete on your side of the fence usually anyway. You should talk to your neighbor beforehand to make sure that they know what’s going on.
Then, go ahead and level the inside of the hole as much as possible so you can hammer in your fence mender. It should be hammered in straight and tall, in the place you want the post to eventually stand.
Next, rope your fence straight and your posts should be snuggled on your fence mender. Tie the rope off and use the 2 by 4 to prop the fence up for support. Drill in the deck screws into the fence mender to secure it.
Once it is secured, pour in the concrete. If you need to reset it, I find that it is safer and easier to use a hammer and chisel.
Though it does take some time to get through it since it is a concert. Once you fill it up to around 6 inches, mix it with water until you have about the same consistency as pancake batter. Let it sit and dry.
After it has dried, remove the rope and 2 by 4. The fence should be up right now. And now you are all finished, see that wasn’t too bad, was it?