fence tips and tricks

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I had been using crusher run but made the switch to washed small stone. Its about the same size as pea gravel, which is round, but it's small crushed granite. I still have to tamp it around the posts but it packs so much faster and it's irregular shapes makes it pack harder too.

My land is red clay.
 
The only reason I use road base is that it's cheaper than washed stone or gravel. Early on I realized that in black clay it doesn't matter much if you have a ball of concrete at the bottom. When the soil contracts in summer, the post with the ball of concrete at the bottom moves under the pull pressure. Base or gravel, on the other hand, not being cemented to the post, settle when the soil contracts.

The other alternative is to bury the post 4' deep where the soil temp is more stable and soil does not expand or contract. I do that sometimes when I don't have road base and dump 1 bag of krete and the rest I back fill with dirt.
 
Col Reb said:
This has probably already been addressed but I don't have time to read through all 110 pages. Folks around home(MS) are using washed gravel for posts. I have always used quikrete but they are saying the posts are supposed to last a lot longer with the gravel. Says it the gravel locks in place & keeps the posts tight. What are your thoughts?

Rock will allow the water to drain. Any type of concrete will hold the water against the post and eventually cause rot, treated or not.
 
It finally stopped raining long enough to replace a section of a cross fence this weekend. I used a lot of the great tips/ materials in this thread that made things go quicker and smoother than the way I used to do things... 6 strands Gaucho 15.5ga high tensile barb wire, Gripple T-Clips, Medium Gripples, Strainrite chain strainer, Danuser T3 T-post driver. Wooden posts set and tamped with washed gravel at 42" deep.
Now I can close off this pasture to make ready for hay cutting in a few months.


 
I've got a couple of friends that tamp fence post with gravel. I usually use concrete on my corners and just dirt in line. You guys using gravel, any problems with the post leaning when you strain? Also you stretching on the same day you tamp?
 
I didn't have any problems with leaning posts and I could pick a tune on the wire. I was afraid I was going to break the HT wire. I was unsure how tight to pull it without breaking.

I stretched my wire the next day after tamping but only because I ran out of daylight. When I use gravel I can stretch right away, doesn't effect the post.


What is the best way to tell when the wire is tight enough without breaking?
 
david1852 said:
I didn't have any problems with leaning posts and I could pick a tune on the wire. I was afraid I was going to break the HT wire. I was unsure how tight to pull it without breaking.

I stretched my wire the next day after tamping but only because I ran out of daylight. When I use gravel I can stretch right away, doesn't effect the post.


What is the best way to tell when the wire is tight enough without breaking?

I have been known to intentionally break HT wire, to get all the give out of it. Splice, and restretch. Not recomending this practice, just saying I sometimes do it.
 
david1852 said:
I didn't have any problems with leaning posts and I could pick a tune on the wire. I was afraid I was going to break the HT wire. I was unsure how tight to pull it without breaking.

I stretched my wire the next day after tamping but only because I ran out of daylight. When I use gravel I can stretch right away, doesn't effect the post.


What is the best way to tell when the wire is tight enough without breaking?
I bought a tensionometer and thought it was money well spent. I get it correctly tight now without damaging the wire. It is similar to the one I have seen Farmfence use in his videos.

Ken
 
We used a chevy s10 pickup and a come-a-long once to stretch some fence and when the come-a-long started pulling the little truck back we figured it was tight enough. That was about 15 years ago and it's still tight.
 
Can someone tell me if white oak will make good posts? If so what is the life expectancy as posts? Will be sitting in washed gravel. My dad says that it makes a difference of the expectancy what time of the year that it is either cut or sewn. Something about the sap.
Anyone else heard that? I used some red oak a few years ago & they lasted
About 3 years & rotted off at
The ground.
 
We have trees in this area that are called post oak and I think they are in the white oak family. Often wondered the same thing, but have never used them for post. I think in the fall the sap is running down to the roots and in the spring back up to the tree (just my thoughts I am not an arborist), so there might be something to when it is cut.
 
Post oak is in the white oak family. Any oak no matter when you cut it will quickly rot if not treated with some kind of preservative.
 
I just had an entry built and I need to tie 5 lines currently tied on a wood brices to the metal posts. What is the best way to do it without losing tension? Also is there a special way to wrap low carbon wire to pipe, ex two wraps and wrap around? attached is the pic of the new gate and the old braces.

Thanks you.
 
Thanks Hippie Rancher, but how do you not lose tension by cutting it down the line. Won't both sides of the cut lose tension?
 
callmefence is the pro here, but if I had to do this right now, I would undo the current end wraps and move it over to the new post. if I had a good stretcher I might try to clamp and pull from the other side of the gate and get my wraps from there, but if it didn't get as tight as I would like, I would go down the line a post or two and cut the wire then tighten it with a splice. but that is just because I am better at fixing broken wire than I am at installing a new fence on metal braces. If they were wood I would stretch, staple, then wrap.

callmefence probably has a much better way, wait for him. ;-)
 
libertygarden said:
Thanks Hippie Rancher, but how do you not lose tension by cutting it down the line. Won't both sides of the cut lose tension?

If you have a come-a-long and a wire grab it'll be pretty easy to do. Just attach the come-a-long to the post you intend to tie off to or the one past it if possible. Without cutting the wire from were it's originally tied off at, place the wire grab on the wire and tighten it until you get some slack in the wire. Now cut the wire so you'll have enough to tie off to the post you want the wire on. Do 2 wraps around post and twist around standing wire and let off come-a-long. Do this on each wire and you'll be done. Fence has a good youtube video on how to tie wire off with a puller and grab if you've never done this before.
 

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