H-BRACE QUESTIONS

[saltbranch]

I want to start building H-Braces out of pipe. I plan on using 2-7/8". The soil where I am going to put the first set of braces is extremely sandy and very deep sand(as in I never have hit anything but sand to 5' or so).
Imagine beach sand, only finer.............so how deep should I go? I plan using concrete and can haul water to the site. Would the standard 2 post brace work or should I go 3 post. In other area's of property we use 2 post wooden post H-braces, but the soil is not the deep sand that I will be dealing with in this instance.
In a hard ground situation, how deep do you go for the H-braces when using concrete?

I was always taught 5'....but I am getting older and I know not all go that deep.

 

[Brute 23]

There are people on here who probably have a lot more experience at this than I do but here is my recommendation. I would go at least 5', yes double Hs, longer the brace the better, 2 7/8 pipe will flex if you pull the wires really tight.

Drill your hole 5' and put enough dirt in to hold the pipes upright... a foot or so tamped. Then mix one or two bags of cement depending on the diameter of your hole. Don't make it too runny so it helps hold the pipe a little and dries fast. You want to get a foot or two of cement anchor around the pipe. Then let it dry over night. Come back and fill the rest of the hole with dirt and tamp a little to surface.

I set some 3.5" drill pipe like this around a hay field but just one in each corner and pulled 4 wires off it. They never moved. In fact 5 or 6 years later I literally had to dig them out with a backhoe. I was bending the pipe trying to pull them. When the ground naturally settled back on top that cement anchor it was tough to move.

 

[saltbranch]

Brute, Do you think 2-7/8" will twist? One the reasons I was considering that is due to all the braces I see made out of 2-7/8 on all the pipe line right of ways and oilfield fencing that has been put in, the last 2 years or so. Some have seen with bigger pipe, but I have seen a bunch with 2-7/8". We have always used big Mesquite, RR ties and Cedar posts in the past so I have no real experience with the pipe. I just like the idea of fabbing at home and taking up on weekends and installing.
Let me ask another question guys,
I hate using the slick wire and twisting it up when using wood post for H braces. Does anyone see an Issue if I use pipe with flatbar welded to each end and have holes
drilled in flatbar. The drill hole through post and bolt the brace in between the wood post to form the H-brace.

 

[Brute 23]

We have quite a bit of fence with 2 7/8" H-s. The reason we have it is its cheaper for a fence builder to put in because they drive the pipe and don't dig holes. It works good and like any thing else... when done right will last a long time.

If you use wood you have to put a brace wire.

 

[Balin' Wire]

Good lord... 5-foot? I've never set anything that deep but if it's all sugar sand, I can see your point. What I will say is that is you need to prime and paint it before you concrete it in. Inside and out preferably. Why not make a box with the lower (horizontal) runner 1-foot off of the ground and not an "H". No slick wire, no tabs. Fab, paint, set and stretch in a couple of days (long enough for the concrete to set). Be sure to cap of the tops too. Consider an "H" with a diagonal to the third post. The third post would stick out of the ground about a foot and the diagonal would saddle to it. Saves pipe and it's easier to deal with.I assume your welder can't travel to the set point? <my 2-cents>