Erosion, corner posts on a slope repair???

[piaffepony]

120x240 outdoor arena. 6” wood posts for RAMM flex fence and railroad ties along the bottom to keep footing contained.

Long story short, I’m replacing a lot of posts and redoing the drainage as one corner is badly eroded; exposing the whole height of the concrete footing and 80% around of the corner post. It has tweaked the whole corner bracing assembly (crooked AF!) so all 5 posts involved will need to be worked on. That corner is built up about 3-4’!

I put in a French drain along the whole 120’ low end with a dry-well/catch basin in the giant eroded whole and will be putting overflow spouts on it leading out and away from the posts.

So my question is:

How should I go about installing the new corner post since there is no soil or anything there yet? I guess I could fill it in first, but that would require a retaining wall and even then, the soil won’t be very packed and I planned on most of that corner being filled in with gravel and the outside of the corner with large rocks from the pasture.

If I try to set a pier and backfill around it, what’s the best way to keep it level, plumb and in line with the other fence posts since I will have to move and reset the other 4 supporting posts along with it?

 

[EddieWalker]

I would buy longer posts and install them into virgin ground. Then build up the soil around them.

 

[piaffepony]

I would buy longer posts and install them into virgin ground. Then build up the soil around them.

This area lost its virginity a while ago... I’ve laid pipe and stuck my wood all over it and the hole is still a bit moist and the surrounding area is still pretty slippery... (lol sorry I couldn’t help myself)

 

[boomer1025]

I would buy longer posts and install them into virgin ground. Then build up the soil around them.

Do as Eddie said, I'd try and find some good used electric or telephone poles. Then as the last step of the project cut the poles to the proper height.

 

[forgeblast]

Any way to address the erosion before redoing and haveing to redo etc....Maybe put in some cement and slope it like a gutter to move water away?

 

[piaffepony]

Any way to address the erosion before redoing and haveing to redo etc....Maybe put in some cement and slope it like a gutter to move water away?

Well I do have it set up to drain better which will help a lot in the future, but I need to get my fence up ASAP because I need my arena for lessons. I think it might take too long to build it up and get it packed down enough to get my tractor close enough to auger out new post holes. I have some scrap pieces of railroad ties that I was going to stack under the existing ones (when I put them back in place) that will kind of help separate arena fill dirt and the large rocks I grow in my pasture on the outside of the slope.

I thought of doing a nice little block retaining wall around that corner but it’s in a paddock and horses are azzholes who destroy anything nice so small boulders it shall be!

I got better pictures today... keep in mind that I’m a single lady and I do 95% of the work by myself. I replaced 12 posts already and dug that 120’ long trench the old fashion way by myself... I’m exhausted but want to do this right... I just need it to be a one man job because I can’t afford to wait on “weekend warrior/maybe after my kid’s soccer game” people.

 

[newbury]

Assuming you can get to the downside of the fence easily - I'd plan to dump loads of stone (57, something that will let the water flow) down below the corner and build it up to the level of the arena. pipe your french drain through it. But first auger a hole in the corner and drop a telephone pole in it.







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[forgeblast]

I thought of doing a nice little block retaining wall around that corner but it’s in a paddock and horses are azzholes who destroy anything nice so small boulders it shall be!

Lol I said that about my previous dogs, it was why we could never have anything nice

A quick fix to get you back to lessons is needed.....Can you auger and pour in a sono tube a concrete pier or a concrete post (with rebar).

 

[piaffepony]

Lol I said that about my previous dogs, it was why we could never have anything nice

A quick fix to get you back to lessons is needed.....Can you auger and pour in a sono tube a concrete pier or a concrete post (with rebar).

So my corner posts are the larger 6/7” x 8” round PT posts. I’m having a **** of a time finding the right sized sonotube for them in stock Any decent diy sonotube substitutes that would work?

 

[forgeblast]

Maybe ask a carpet place what size cardboard tubes they have? https://www.menards.com/main/buildi...-concrete-form/tu10120001/p-1444442810252.htm

 

[AchingBack]

Here is an idea I saw at a place near me where the ground is too rocky to dig post holes - posts are set into 55 gallon drums filled with rock. The drums are sitting on top of the ground.

A cable or heavy wire can then be attached to the top of the post, and anchored to the ground. An alternative to using the drum is a rock filled gabion basket. https://www.gabion1.com/

 

[JPRambo]

Maybe a sheet of plywood and some screws/nails to make a square sonotube.

 

[jfh28]

the reason for getting into virgin ground (not resting on it but dug into it) is because virgin ground is compacted solid so the post will not be able to move side to side after its encased in the hole with concrete......this is just a fence so there's no real downward load on it.......its all side to side motion and short of getting a compactor in there and compacting the fill to 95% that post will wind up moving again.......if you don't have the time to do it right now then I might suggest moving that corner post in and turn that corner into an angle.....your ring looks big enough to lose a little bit of corner and this way you would be digging down and setting the post into better compacted soil....then when you have the time drill down where the original post location is and set the post.......you should also get more dirt in to extend the slope around that corner too as what you really have there is a retaining wall condition and more dirt will help alleviate the stress at the corner....a 60 degree slope isn't providing any lateral strength....and step one is correct the drainage of the ring or all that you are doing now will happen again.......Jack

 

[EddieWalker]

What is the sonotube supposed to accomplish? Making the post heavier will not make it stronger. I like sonotubes for bringing concrete above grade, but putting it in the hole and expecting fill dirt around it to hold it in place isn't realistic. You will never get the fill dirt to compact anywhere near what virgin soil is, or what concrete will accomplish when poured in the hole, regardless of how big the hole is.

Another thought. Can you get a cement truck there? At $125 a yard, where does it make sense to buy rock, sonotubes, and whatever other materials that you might use to get the same results? Here in Tyler, I can have a regular cement truck with a 4 yard minimum for $100 a yard, or I can buy it by the yard at $125 with no minimum from a company that mixes is as it pours.

But again, my first choice would be to dig down until you hit virgin soil, then drill into it 4 four feet. McCoys has 20 foot posts for $66. I have two of them for my zip line platform, and they are super heavy, but my loader lifted them easily enough.

Shop 2' X 5" Top Treated Post at McCoy's

 

[drssg]

Well I do have it set up to drain better which will help a lot in the future, but I need to get my fence up ASAP because I need my arena for lessons.

You need a fence to give lessons? It seems easier to just leave the fence down. It's more maintenance all the way around.

I've had good luck using washed 1" stone for minor erosion issues. It will drain well, but it's big enough to not wash away.