Floating brace

[hayray]

I guess every soil is different , I have never been able to set a 3 post corner brace without it giving untill I started cementing them in. I know they say not to cement it will rot the post but I have removed pine treated post that was cemented and in the ground 20 years and they had not rotted. If I build the floating brace I will cement it in. Still have not convinced the fence builder , will have to build it to prove it works.

I think the dirt is not what holds the corner post near as much as the proper brace. I have set some corners in real wet ground that never got packed and filled with anything but muck and they have held. I really think it is all in the mechanics of the how it is braced. As far as seeting the corner near the front of the hole, the brace post pushes the corner backwards anyways.

 

[xbred]

for a corner do you put 2 braces at a 90 to one another? I can see how you could pull toward the brace, but not from the brace...i'll sure try it...

 

[dun]

for a corner do you put 2 braces at a 90 to one another? I can see how you could pull toward the brace, but not from the brace...i'll sure try it...

Yes. I terminate each leg of the fence at the post instead of using it as just a turn. The brace is parallel with the fence leg and the 2 legs are connected around the post with a jumper wire.

 

[Brute 23]

I don't get it? :???: Is a H-brace really that hard to build?

I have cemented one 4" pipe on corners and pulled 3 wires tight for temp fence around a hay field with no problem. We bent the 4" pipes trying to pull them when we put a permenant fence up. Nothing is faster than cementing pipe. I was surprised at the strength.

 

[dun]

I don't get it? :???: Is a H-brace really that hard to build?

I have cemented one 4" pipe on corners and pulled 3 wires tight for temp fence around a hay field with no problem. We bent the 4" pipes trying to pull them when we put a permenant fence up. Nothing is faster than cementing pipe. I was surprised at the strength.

When it can take several hours to dig a hole, anything that eliminates a hole is a lot faster. A floating brace is also a whole lot cheaper.

 

[BeefmasterB]

I typically use the H-brace and find it works great when using an 8' cross member. The shorter cross pieces make the whole corner pull out of the ground over time. I like the idea of the floating brace - less work - but wonder if it would work for a 5 wire barbed fence.

 

[Brute 23]

I can understand if it is hard to dig... I just don't undertand where the strength is?

 

[BeefmasterB]

I can understand if it is hard to dig... I just don't undertand where the strength is?

I can see it's strength as an in-line brace but it seems that as a corner brace, with fences coming off of it at 90 degrees (L-shape), then the brace should be placed at 45 degrees to resist both stresses. I've tried this with an H-brace at 45 degrees (which eliminated one H-brace), and it worked!! If this design could work as a corner post configuration with 2 fences coming off it at right angles, then the work of an extra H-brace and one hole could be eliminated! Hope this makes some sense.

 

[dun]

I can understand if it is hard to dig... I just don't undertand where the strength is?

The strngth is the end riding on the ground. And yes you can use it with 5 strand barbed wire

 

[tytower]

what I dont like about this method is
1/ The notch in the post allows water and crud to sit on the bottom edge .Thats where you will get ants vermin and rot and even pressure treated will rot if you cut into them.Timber is like a bunch of milk bar straws . Moisture is sucked right through them by capilliary action. The whole side of the post down to the bottom will stay wet(if and when it gets wet)
2/ The cost of the gal strainer-just a stick tighten would be a lot cheaper and easier to adjust up down the track.

H braces take about the same time I would say and all the cut timber is up the top where it willl dry out quick.
Dont think the side strength argument holds up ! Two poles in the ground as opposed to one?

 

[hayray]

I have found that doubling up on the brace wire and using a twist stick is much stronger and tightens up the brace better. And also, when I put the brace as low as he does in the article it sure seems weaker. I don't understand not putting it up higher, it has so much more torque.

 

[dun]

I have found that doubling up on the brace wire and using a twist stick is much stronger and tightens up the brace better. And also, when I put the brace as low as he does in the article it sure seems weaker. I don't understand not putting it up higher, it has so much more torque.

For barb I put it at the top of the post for hot I put it a little lower but still above the wire. I don;t noth the post I use a pin (usually a 6-10" piece of tedder tooth).

 

[1982vett]

what I dont like about this method is
1/ The notch in the post allows water and crud to sit on the bottom edge .Thats where you will get ants vermin and rot and even pressure treated will rot if you cut into them.Timber is like a bunch of milk bar straws . Moisture is sucked right through them by capilliary action. The whole side of the post down to the bottom will stay wet(if and when it gets wet)
2/ The cost of the gal strainer-just a stick tighten would be a lot cheaper and easier to adjust up down the track.

H braces take about the same time I would say and all the cut timber is up the top where it willl dry out quick.
Dont think the side strength argument holds up ! Two poles in the ground as opposed to one?

I believe most of you are missing the point about the floating brace opposed to the H brace. It is most likely all about digging that second hole in a 2 ton bolder.

 

[tytower]

If you are digging in a boulder then I dont think a timber post would be used . You would keep the hole small made with a crowbar and put a star picket or pipe in it wouldnt you?