I’m in (a seemingly futile) search of 5"-6" black round fence posts that are strong enough to withstand normal horse abuse but need zero maintenance and will last for at least the next 20-30 years without needing to be painted. Composite posts seem to be promising, but I’m having a hard time finding round posts in that size range. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Do they have to be round?
There are railroad ties we have, that were already used for decades by the railroad, that have made excellent fence post for 70 years now and are still going strong.
Some of those have been used in two different sets of pens already.
Would those work for you, maybe?
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This stuff has been showing up on my Facebook feed lately:
https://www.buckleyfence.com/horse-fencing/
Sure looks pretty cool.
Wow - I dare not even hazard a guess as to what a steel fence would cost! :eek: Although judging by how hot my aluminum boat gets at work during summer, I guess maybe that would keep things from leaning on your fence, lol.
I’ve seen numbers in the $22-24 ish per linear foot range in the comments. No idea if that includes install!
For that price, it better include a force field that keeps out all flies & ticks.
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:lol: :lol: :lol:
”‹(”‹”‹I recently got a bid for four board in that same range. Just wood, no promise of a force field! :eek:)
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My neighbor surrounded his 100+ac field with concrete posts, covered with a PVC ‘sleeve’ of some sort. They were certainly durable-- I think he put them in in the late 1990s and were at least 20yrs old when he pulled them. But they were ugly, and many of them were angled out or sideways, or had developed big cracks. So the overall fence was not in good shape at all.
No such thing as maintenance-free, and thanks to the wonders of UV radiation and climate, everything that lives outdoors will develop a weathered appearance and/or experience material breakdown.
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I should add-- when walking around the woods on our farm, where the homestead used to be, you can still find some of the osage orange fence posts that date from the early 1900s. Not very practical today to have such gnarly, irregular posts, but those things are indestructible. They weigh easily twice as much as a modern fencepost because the wood is so dense.
I have some - “Everwood” plastic posts. Indestructible. When a tree falls on the fence the post just stands there. While they were too flexible for "pull to " posts I have them for line posts. After 20 years they are just like when installed.
BUT - the factory that made them in Canada burned down some years back and there are no more. If I had known this I would have bought up all that the Co-op had twenty years ago. I did put in some cross fencing about 5 years ago and the contractor sourced some other plastic posts. I don’t know who he bought them from but they are utter crap. They are extremely brittle so if you even bump the post with the tractor the post breaks off at ground level. And right after I got the nice pretty new fence up a storm blew through and downed a bunch of my cedar trees. You guessed it - right on the new fence and about 4 more of these posts broke off. So if you source plastic fence posts check them out before you install them.
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We have black steel posts used for chain link fencing that we put no climb on. This includes 8” gate and corner posts. All are set in concrete. Some sections (paddocks by barn, pasture along driveway) have a steel top rail. We bought and installed this ourselves from a fencing supply place near us. No maintenance for the last 8 years. That’s saying something in the land of rot, wet and mud!
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It’s pretty common to see Amish farms fenced with steel pipes instead board. I think the pipe is rejected well piping. It can’t be super expensive because it’s everywhere. I’m not sure what they use for posts.
We use well pipe for post, lighter pipe for horizontal bars.
Generally 2 3/8" or 2 7/8"
Lately we prefer to make panels with 1 78" tubing, very strong and cheaper.
We wire them to 2 7/8" uprights for posts, corners and gate posts 4 1/2".
We had good luck with those, have not had a horse hurt in those, yet.
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Saw the ad on FB, tens of thousands for 2 acres, I believe.
There’s someone with concrete type fencing like that. Their problem, like the plastic version, is the boards falling out. All the time.
In what kind of ground? Pretty much any pressure treated post is going to rot eventually. ‘They don’t make them like they used to’ is true in this case – the chemicals they used to use are not allowed anymore.
If you want them to be black they’re going to have to be treated somehow – you may be thinking of creosote, but again, check whether it is allowed in your area before you use those, or you may end up having to remove it all.
The best posts we have are from a place that manufactures telephone poles. They chop off the smaller top part of the tree and sell them as 10’ posts. Those, obviously, are meant to last a while. I am not sure if they have permission to use a better/stronger treatment or what, but they have made excellent corner posts.
One thing that I assume would help, that I always meant to do but haven’t yet… is to put metal covers on the posts. I have seen them, it’s some sort of flexible square of metal that covers the top and wraps around the post. Almost like a sheet of lead but surely it can’t be… failing that, sealing the tops (but I know you said you didn’t want to paint them.)
We have some of the old Everwood posts at my barn. Owner got a load of them about 20 years ago, same as you. She still has a stack of them and they are used to replace rotten posts one at a time. They were from Canada but she got them from a distributor in Riverside, CA. Black, round, made of recycled plastic, never fade, chip, splinter, anything. Absolutely wonderful product.
Sorry this does not help you OP, but I did wonder what happened to this product and I appreciate SusanO’s info. They still have a website; maybe they can suggest an alternate supplier.
I attempted to find a maintenance free fence post, time will tell. We bought used well pipe 2 3/8” OD, 3/16” wall (minus loss from corrosion/erosion). Pre-drilled holes in the shop, pressure washed it, painted the outside with rustoleum, pounded or placed in augered hole, filled with dry concrete (desiccant) plastic cap on top. We used the cantaur/Ramm style fence with these posts.
I think this will be forever fence, but the installation preparation almost negates any savings on maintenance time. I figured we are young enough for a fence project now, probably not in 20 yrs.
I have well pipe posts, the larger size, I think 3". The fence also has a welded on top rail of the same diameter. And then 2x4 wire mesh for the fill fencing.
It was installed in 1995. I did not paint the pipe and it now has its own rust protection. It is going strong. My only maintence has been with the wire mesh part.
If you aren’t in an “oil producing state/region”, finding well pipe for steel fencing is just not going to happen. Even the panels or prepackaged steel rail fences are rare as hen’s teeth.
Here in the PNW, wood posts are pretty but last maybe a few years in our wet soil. RR ties for corner posts will last much longer (the ones we used in our back field are 17 years old and still firm and upright!) but my god they are a project to move and place! Our compromise with the chain link type posts was more $$ upfront but looks amazing on our small acreage and has held up beautifully. Otherwise, here it’s the ubiquitous green or red steel posts with the white paint at the top, usually with a plastic cap to add safety. Those last years as well, but are not very aesthetically pleasing. Wood rail fencing here is a joke-- a rotting mess waiting to happen.
I forgot to add, we have 4” pipe with 1/4” wall for corners. Dad is an amateur welder and attached fittings for bracing and hinges for gates. It’s really indestructible, but design is not tolerant of field modifications.
We are not in oil field country (WI). I found a good price on the pipe and paid freight for a full load…we are cross-fencing 10 ac of pasture and 30ac of perimeter. It was still less $$ than 4” pressure treated wood posts.
