Eastern NC folks - can we talk fence posts?

[SkipHiLad4me]

I’m getting ready to put in about 2000’ of 2x4 mesh fence. Fence will be 48" with a strand of hot wire or tape along the top - so roughly 4.5ft tall when finished. My soil is sort of a sandy loam so good drainage but a good amount of clay for stability when you dig down.

Is 3’ the minimum you would sink posts without concrete? Would 2.5’ work? Just trying to decide if I need 7’ or 8’ posts.

We have telephone posts we plan to sink for corners and gate posts. Rather than a 90 degree corner with brace posts, Im thinking of doing a wider angle and using 3 telephone posts closer together. So more like a curve instead of a corner, if that makes sense! I’ve seen this done on some older farms and it’s seems to have held up well over time. Not sure if I’ll regret it later though!

Any other tips I need to know before I pull the trigger on ordering my fence posts?

thank you!!

[csaper58]

1/3 of the total length in the ground 2/3 above the ground so a 6 ft post would have 2 ft in ground 4 ft above ground.

Be sure to check the frost heave depth in your area.

We always put 4 inches of gravel in the bottom of the hole for drainage, and paint the below-ground portion of the post with roofing tar to slow wood rot.

ETA…Can you get 7ft posts? Here posts are sold in even lengths 6’ 8’ 10’ 12’ etc.

[gumtree]

I am sure there will be some who feel differently and or it is done differently in their neck of the horse world. But I have been on LOTS of farms over the years, have puts up LOTS of fencing, miles and miles of it. First going back 50 years, when I was a kid.

The standard used by the majority of horse farms be it a high end TB or a small hobby farm are 8 foot posts sunk 3’ to 3’-6 depending on the desired height of the top board. The majority of TB fencing IME is 4 foot. Our weanling paddocks are 4’-6. A breeding stallion paddock is usually 5+’.

The horse fencing standard posts in my heavily horse populated area are 4x6 pressure treated for board and for wire. Though a lot of farms that use V-mesh wire also use round posts because they can be less expensive due to less “milling”, Half rounds are also used/popular. Rounds and half rounds are not always available in a lot of areas.

Before pressure treated became the standard creosoted post were the standard. But creosote has been banned in a lot of states for environmental reasons. It is also nasty stuff to work with, burns skin easily. Pretty hard to avoid unless one is clothed head to toe when setting post and boards.

When untreated posts were used what Casper suggested was pretty much SOP. Added a lot of extra labor and mess. It is unnecessary if using pressure treated posts. Throwing gravel in the bottom isn’t needed either. Nor is cutting the tops at an angle to shed water. I pulled some pressure treated post that have been in the ground going on 18 years the other day. There were in pretty much perfect condition. Totally reusable. We get a lot of rain around here also. And cold winters, frost line is 30-36 inches.

IMO which is based on lots of experience and based on your description 8’ posts sunk 3’+ feet will do job. If the post can’t be pounded which is the BEST way to set posts. I use a 6’ arguer for 4x6 posts, spray a bright paint line on it for a 3’ “gauge” and go down the marked fence line holes and drill away. Making sure the auger is “plumb” when drilling.

I have my assistant place and hold the post in the hole and press it in with the bucket on my tractor. They go in nice and tight with minimum back filling needed, little to no tamping. I generally mark the 3 foot depth on the post with a “fat” black marker because some dirt usually falls back into the hole when pulling the auger out. I pound the post to the line with my bucket.

Any posts that “stand proud” after nailing the top board are cut off with a chain saw. I only cement posts that go in shallow, 2± maybe 2-6 because of hitting rocks that are too time consuming to get out and or can leave a very large diameter hole.

[goodhors]

I would plan to use 4 to 6 posts, fairly close together, on the radius of a curve with no post bracing. Will depend on how big a radius you have on the curve. That 5 posts, closely spaced is what we have on our smaller curve into the 14ft wide lane to the barn. I don’t want a tight space where horses could tangle. We have high tensile wire, 8 strands, not sure if weight would be the same as woven wire on the posts. Wire is on outside of posts of the curve. Our curve has been very nice in that place, horses just bend around the outside easily, racing to the barn. I do keep the curve well graveled, no slippery mud to fall.

Consider having posts pounded in, over digging them in. Posts go in faster, no back filling or tamping. Our posts are still very solid after years in place. We did double brace all other corners, which prevents sagging of wire under tension, ice weight in storms, gates don’t sag.

I would go with taller posts, hang my wire higher, to prevent horses reaching over or leaning if the fencer is not working. Gets bottom wire high for easy spraying or weed trimming. Many folks have taller horses than in years past, NEED taller fences to better contain them. I WISH my fences were 6 to 8 inches taller. They were fine for the little 14-15H western horses, but our present leggy Sporthorses tower over the top wire. A 48 inch height on a 17h horse chest looks silly, though they do respect it, stay contained. Better to have taller fences for the stupid horses, short or tall, to keep them inside.

[SkipHiLad4me]

This is all great information! Thanks so much for the responses.

Sounds like the 8’ posts are the best option so I’ll plan to go with those. We get very few frosts/freezes where I live so fortunately that isn’t as much of a factor with the depth of the posts. Plus it sounds like that’ll give me a little more room to add additional strands on top of the fence if I decide I need something taller. One of the sources I’m pricing posts from offers just about any type and length of post you could want - so it’s good to have options!

I would prefer to have someone come pound the posts in, as we’re currently trying to get a barn built while working full time jobs and this would be a huge time saver for getting a fence up. There aren’t many options in my area for fence companies but I may try to price this and see if it’s do-able. DH is all about saving money but at this point I’m all about time and convenience :winkgrin: We do have access to an auger at no cost but with about 150 posts to sink, it’s going to be very time consuming.

[fourfillies]

After you and DH auger the first 10, maybe 15, the cost of having them drilled will seem very reasonable. Trust me. I’ve lived this. And, you will get a better result, both in straightness and longevity.

[stellasmom]

Fencing companies around here are expensive. I’m having 11,000 feet of fencing installed by Shuck Fencing beginning of September. They are by far the cheapest I have found and I have seen their work. It is a group out of Kentucky.