# Cementing fence posts



## stillstending (Jul 7, 2014)

Is cementing your fence posts absolutely necessary? Did you have someone come in and do it or did you do it yourself? How much did it cost you to do? And how much land did you fence in? Thanks!


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

While I'm sure it has its merits, we never cemented any of our fence posts because of cost and convenience - cost is pretty self explanatory; convenience is getting rid of the cement if you have to replace a post or change the fence line.

As an fyi, there's a product on the market that I unfortunately don't have the name of right now. It might best be described as plastic cement - you mix it up, stick the post in and let it dry; the trick is getting the post in and centered correctly as you only have about 10-15 minutes before it hardens. I think you can get it at home hardware/construction stores. Price wise, it seems higher than cement but well worth it for ease of use.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

I have never cemented a fence post. It would be a royal pain to do and expensive. You need to look at your soil / ground and make a decision from there as to what type of posts to set. For example, if you have relatively dry, compactable soil, a cedar post will last for many years. If the fence is going through wet areas, you'd be better off with plastic composite. Do you have frost in your area? That also impacts it.

Where I am now, setting wooden posts in the ground is frustrating. There is a lot of clay and the frost upheavals take dang near anything out of the ground unless it is either narrow and relatively deep or cemented in to the bedrock. Plus it is very wet, so anything but cedar will rot in no time. Even cedar seems to last only about a dozen years here. So my "structural" fence posts are steel T-posts with electric tape. They are about 8 feet long - 3' underground and 5 feet above. If I needed fence boards, I would either use plastic composite (if I could afford it) or use old steel drill pipe that is a common scrap article in the area. I suspect that I would have some difficulty because the bedrock is not deep enough in locations (not below frost), so those posts would need to be cemented or bolted to the bedrock, depending on the formation.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

stillstending said:


> Is cementing your fence posts absolutely necessary? Did you have someone come in and do it or did you do it yourself? How much did it cost you to do? And how much land did you fence in? Thanks!


 You typically only concrete the ones that hold the gate for strength.
Never heard of doing it to any of the regular posts.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Since my soil is clay, a fellow with a post pounder on his tractor set my posts in. The ends have a long point, not a short stubby one. The long point makes it harder for the clay to push them out of the ground. This happens where frost goes down a foot or more.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

The only time I have used cement to back fill post holes was after we had to jack hammer holes across a short stretch of rock in order to follow the property line.

If the ground is soft, like near a river, cement won't help, but well-placed rocks at the bottom of the hole will.

For everything else, patient tamping will work.


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## Phly (Nov 14, 2012)

Cementing is absolutely not needed in most ground. But, post depth does need to vary. 

We have a lot of sand here, so a corner post in concrete 2' deep is just a post sitting in a bucket of concrete. But a corner post 4' deep in sand is never gonna go anywhere. 

I hope you get what I mean.


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## ZaneyZanne123 (Nov 9, 2013)

I only cement corner post or those with the most weight bearing/pull. It stablizes them better and helps keep them from leaning or being pulled. Otherwise the other post do not get cemented.

I dig a hole to the depth that I want, place the post in the hole, take a bag of cement (dry) and dump the entire contents into the hole (evenly around the post) and add water then I stir up the mix inside the hole with a peice of rebar or other strong stiring impliment. I let it set, then after it sets I fill the remainder of the hole with dirt pack. I will let it rest for at least 48 hours before I add what ever is going on the post. 

I also set in cement post that are holding gates, they are usualy larger in diameter and are set a little deeper in the ground.


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## Fort fireman (Mar 5, 2011)

I have a coated high tensile wire fence. I did concrete my corner posts along with the posts of the H brace and end posts. A high tensile fence has a lot of pressure on it. The line posts are just in the dirt. To concrete a post isn't a big deal. Dig your hole, place your post. Pour in quick crete. Wiggle your post to get it to settle down some. Almost like sand and get your post straight. Then just pour water in the quick Crete and let it dry. Fill the rest of the hole up with dirt and your done. I would say if you are building a fence that has tension on it it's not a bad idea to concrete corners. Just a board fence or wire mesh fence i wouldn't worry about it.


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## HombresArablegacy (Oct 12, 2013)

Chevaux said:


> While I'm sure it has its merits, we never cemented any of our fence posts because of cost and convenience - cost is pretty self explanatory; convenience is getting rid of the cement if you have to replace a post or change the fence line.
> 
> As an fyi, there's a product on the market that I unfortunately don't have the name of right now. It might best be described as plastic cement - you mix it up, stick the post in and let it dry; the trick is getting the post in and centered correctly as you only have about 10-15 minutes before it hardens. I think you can get it at home hardware/construction stores. Price wise, it seems higher than cement but well worth it for ease of use.


You may be thinking of Quikrete Fast set concrete, designed for setting posts. Just pour it in the post hole, add water, and it sets in 30 minutes.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## HombresArablegacy (Oct 12, 2013)

ZaneyZanne123 said:


> I only cement corner post or those with the most weight bearing/pull. It stablizes them better and helps keep them from leaning or being pulled. Otherwise the other post do not get cemented.
> 
> I dig a hole to the depth that I want, place the post in the hole, take a bag of cement (dry) and dump the entire contents into the hole (evenly around the post) and add water then I stir up the mix inside the hole with a peice of rebar or other strong stiring impliment. I let it set, then after it sets I fill the remainder of the hole with dirt pack. I will let it rest for at least 48 hours before I add what ever is going on the post.
> 
> I also set in cement post that are holding gates, they are usualy larger in diameter and are set a little deeper in the ground.


I fenced in my 8 acres with the field fencing, and cemented in all corner posts and crossbraced them. Also used concrete for posts at the end of every 330ft roll of fencing. Like you, I poured the concrete in the hole, added water and used a crowbar.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

I cement in my pipe post. Did a dry set. pour the dry cement in the hole, and then pour water on it. The T post are just pounded in the ground (of course) and we have some wood post and those are not cemented as they will not be the permanent fence. they do move some with ground expansion and contraction from rain, and if the horses use them as a scratch post.


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