Advice on corner posts for fence

EddieWalker · Dec 13, 2004

I'm still kicking around some options on a small pasture that I'm creating. The land is cleared and graded. When spring arrives, I'll plant bermuda grass, which does well in my area and is one of the better grasses for grazing.

The pasture will hold a few Longhorns. They will be for ornametal purposes.

My plan is to run five strands of barb wire. Goucho 4 barbe was recomended as a good choice. I was told it doesn't rust as quickly as red brand. Other than that, I have no idea of what to look for in barb wire.

I have three choices for the corners. Metal pipe, PT posts or Cedar posts.

I've gone back and forth on using pipe. I like the idea of being able to paint it green to match the t-posts and the finished look is real nice. Price is close enought to PT that it's not a major concern. Welding them up would be a fun project on rainy days in my barn.

Negatives on pipe for me comes down to fastening the wire to it. I haven't seen anything that I like as much as just nailing the wire to a post.

PT posts are my current favorite choice due to the ease of attaching the wire and the big beefy look I like on corner posts. I can also paint them to look nice, or leave them natural for a nice rustic look.

I've just started thinking about using Cedar trees from my land as posts. I have plenty, the price is right, and they will give me a really rustic look that I think I'll really like.

Negatives of Cedar comes down to how long will it last compared to PT?

I have one strait run of about 650 feet that will be the viewing area of people at my place. If Cedar will last as fence posts, I'd even consider using it instead of t-posts on that run and maybe even creating a three rail fence from it to really create a rustic look.

Then I could do the other runs in a more traditional method.

Thanks,
Eddie

turnkey4099 · Dec 13, 2004

Can't speak as to the look you are after but after a lifetime of maintaining fence: The corner will make or break your fence. Build it strong, build it to last. Look should be your last consideration. My choice would be to use 3 #1 railroad ties on each corner braced with perhaps 10' cedar small logs (about 6") for the horizontal. That is what I used 20 years ago and it is still solid (too solid as I now have to remove 2 of them to cross fence differently.

Harry K

KubotaSteve · Dec 13, 2004

I put up the cattle fence from tractor supply and used railroad ties for my corner posts and used T-posts as the brace. Also used the railroad ties as gate posts. I was tightening the fence with my Kubota 7800 with the chain hooked to the bucket and the fence would have broke before the railroad ties gave any. They really feel solid and are square off nicely. I put mine in the ground 30 to 36 inches. Just make sure you get some decent ties.

wroughtn_harv · Dec 13, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Negatives on pipe for me comes down to fastening the wire to it. I haven't seen anything that I like as much as just nailing the wire to a post. )</font>

I don't know about nailing wire to pipe. But I staple it to pipe all the time.

Not a problem.

Decide where on the post you want the wire to be. Then drill a five sixteenths hole into the pipe. Take a number two wood staple. Put it over the barbwire. With a pair of fence pliers squeeze the points of the staple together. Place the points in the five sixteenths hole. Hammer in with your fence pliers.

The only way you can pull that staple out is by cutting it off. What happens is as the points go through the wall of the pipe they cross.

I've been doing it since I was in my twenties. It's an old fenceman's trick. Works like a hose. I'm sure somewhere in one of my posts I've got pictures of it.

ThistleKop · Dec 13, 2004

Eddie,
You're getting good info on the fenceposts. Let me talk about the wire. Several yrs. ago when the high tensile barbwire came to our area it was touted as being more resistant to rust than the old stand-by brands. Gaucho and Motto are two brands that have proven-out very well in my obversations and my own use. I will continue to use it when I need barbwire.

TK

Tx_Firefighter · Dec 13, 2004

I really like to use 2 3/8 drill stem for my corners. It's about a buck a foot around here and once welded and set properly into concrete, it will outlive the builder for sure.

wroughtn_harv · Dec 14, 2004

The biggest mistake I see made on pull corners is placing the posts too close together. Some stores like Home Depot in the country sell pre welded up H fixtures and corners.

The problem is their post separation is only four feet. It's not enough. I won't go less than eight feet separation and when I do an H fixture I always use three posts, two panels together.

Bird · Dec 14, 2004

That's the first time I ever heard of putting staples into a steel post; sounds like a neat idea. The last fence I was involved in building was around the land that had been donated for our new volunteer fire department. We used steel posts, but at the corners instead of H fixtures, with horizontal bracing, we welded diagonal bracing; i.e., from near the top of the corner posts to near the bottom of the second post. That just "seemed" like it would be a little stronger, but I really don't know that to be a fact, and we did go with the longer spacing, as you mentioned. Of course, cutting the ends of the diagonal braces neatly was a little more difficult since we didn't have a template for that.

EddieWalker · Dec 14, 2004

Thanks all for the advice so far!! Please keep it comeing.

I was hopeing for some knowledge on the cedar trees I have for posts. The more I think about it, the more I like it for my ornamental front side.

I haven't herd about making my braces 8 feet before, or that 4 feet wasn't enough. That's easy enough to do.

Railroad ties kind of scare me. I've run across them used as landscaping timber in a number of homes, and every single time they are rotted out. I'm not sure if it's my climate, soil, or just bad ties, but when I see something happen before, I believe it will happen again.

I saw the welded corners and H braces at TSC. The corners were in the $150 range. That seemed sort of pricey.

turnkey4099 · Dec 14, 2004

Yes, RR ties will rot. All wood will rot eventually but RR #1 will probably outlive you (mine are in the ground over 20 years now). For peremanent the welded pipe would be about the only choice.

As for cedar for appearance. Not a good idea for posts if you are looking for long life. Here an untreated cedar will go about 10 years. Treated a bit longe but not much. Clear of ground cedar both looks nice and lasts long.