Barbwire fence wood posts or tposts?

[TxJack]

Is a tpost "only" run for a barbwire fence strong enough or is it better to have a wood post after every couple of tposts? The pressure treated posts these days just seem brittle and don't seem to last.

 

[farmgirl19]

I like to use both. I usually have 3-4 T-posts between the wooden posts, as well as either wooden corners and "H" in the line. I like wooden posts, but there is always the fire risk, especially in the areas still in a drought. If you want to avoid wood altogether, you could use pipe in place of it, and still be cheaper using T-posts than if it were all pipe.

 

[BHD]

a lot depends on soil conditions and how the t post stand up, I use the heaver T posts,

I have been building my newer fences out of both,

one wood post and 4 Tee posts, one wood, 4 tee,

the old fence is all most 100% wood, a tee post about ever 20 or 30 to drain or ground out lighting strikes, save having to go and replace 10 or so splintered posts after a storm, and have not had any cattle hurt since adding the steel post to the fence.

yes I agree the new wood posts seem very weak, and snap easily,

I use 4-5" wood posts, normally the deal is (at least last year) the cost difference was only 50 cents or so, the work of putting them in is part of my consideration, (they seem a little harder ever year now).

we have over 10 miles of fence to keep up, I need to rebuild a mile and half this summer some time, two fences that are seldom used, and about 50% of the posts are in need of replacement,

and I have a bunch of corners to build or rebuild as well,

I am considering trying some different on the corners, and that is to about 100 to 150 feet out from the corner start to bring the wire down to near the base of the post, so the stretched wire has less leverage to work the corners back up out of the ground, and then use a "short" wire to fill in the fence where they should be, in that 150 or so feet, in this sand in 10 to 15 years the corners start to lift out,

I guess I could bolt on some steel wings to the base of the posts so they would help anchor them, and still use the post driver, (post driver new), in the past they were all hand dug holes, and most were over 3 feet deep usually use 8" round posts on the corners,

 

[Soundguy]

Is a tpost "only" run for a barbwire fence strong enough or is it better to have a wood post after every couple of tposts? The pressure treated posts these days just seem brittle and don't seem to last.

i do wood corners with angle or H braces at the corner.. then H braces on spans. with tpost the rest of the uprights. Gate posts are trreated like corners.

wood posts get staples. tpost wire clips. both have their plusses.

In my area.. tpost are cheaper and weasier to install, and remove.

 

[DutchHenryBrown]

i do wood corners with angle or H braces at the corner.. then H braces on spans. with tpost the rest of the uprights. Gate posts are trreated like corners.

wood posts get staples. tpost wire clips. both have their plusses.

In my area.. tpost are cheaper and weasier to install, and remove.

+1 I do like Soundguy and use a Rohrer t-post driver works well even in the rocky soil around here. :thumbsup: I have found that my hands no longer fit around a post hole digger!

 

[Soundguy]

I have found that my hands no longer fit around a post hole digger!

you too!

 

[texasjohn]

20 or so years ago I used a mix of treated posts with several T posts between. As problems arose with the wood posts...rotted, pulled out of the ground...I replaced with T posts. I recommend T posts now with concrete or welded pipe end/corner posts.

Now, I use T posts exclusively. I drive them using my FEL with a pipe sheath on the full length of the T post to prevent it from bending under pressure. HST provides the precision movement needed for safety and driving accuracy.

 

[oosik]

I have a mile and a half of barb wire fence around my 80 acres. I still have about 20-30 wooden posts because I just haven't got around to jack hammering a hole in the bedrock to set a T-post. The "wooden post" is a post with a cross piece on the bottom to hold it upright - it doesn't go into the ground because it sits directly on exposed basaltic lava bedrock. About 20% of all my T-posts are set in very solid bedrock. I've never had a range fire started by a lightning strike on my fence line although I've seen them and they can be devastating. My corners are metal gabions 4'x4'x4' filled with rock. My home made T-post pounder is a chunk of 4" well pipe with a 40lb steel chunk welded on one end. Its a little clunky getting the pounder "loaded" and upright but MAN does it do the job.

 

[Ken45101]

The OP didn't specify what he is fencing in. AFAIK, cattle tend to push against fences more than horses and that makes a difference in post selection.

 

[Texasmark]

I fenced for cattle, 5-6 strands barbed wire, and use a hot wire about nose (theirs) high to keep them off it; battery operated.

I live on Houston Black Clay that has a tremendous volumetric variation from winter to summer. As a result T posts just fall through the cracks in the summer requiring the periodic tensioners to keep them up. I started out 35 years ago with wood for corners and periodic tensioners. Today they are 2 3/8 Sch 40 pipe sitting in 12" x 3' concrete holes. H braces at about 600' and intermediate single poles at about 60'. All corners are double braced at 8' widths....a corner would have 5 posts. Now that I can afford a portable welder, the pipe is easier to work, no cross brace wire to fool with and no rot. I paint them "Natures Brown" which works great....zero maintenance for me.

Mark

 

[texasjohn]

Yep, you got fences that will last.

 

[crackerjack222]

I have been doing something similar to TexasMark except when I set a pipe post in concrete it is 2 7/8" for gate posts or 2 3/8" for line posts or H brace; and I put it in a hole 8"x48" deep filled with concrete. The last fence I built, I had a guy come in and use a tractor mounted post pounder (Blackcat Fence Post Driver | Fence Post Driver System for Tractors Skid steer) to install the gate posts and H brace posts (still 2/ 7/8 or 2 3/8 pipe). I used galvanized 6.5' T's and 5" x 8' cedar on 10' centers, four t's to one cedar, five wire Gaucho.
The pipe posts he pounded in were cut 10' and put 5' in the ground. Remains to be seen if the pounded posts will hold up as well as the cemented posts. If they do, I would sure like to have one of those pounders.

 

[Texasmark]

I have been doing something similar to TexasMark except when I set a pipe post in concrete it is 2 7/8" for gate posts or 2 3/8" for line posts or H brace; and I put it in a hole 8"x48" deep filled with concrete. The last fence I built, I had a guy come in and use a tractor mounted post pounder (Blackcat Fence Post Driver | Fence Post Driver System for Tractors Skid steer) to install the gate posts and H brace posts (still 2/ 7/8 or 2 3/8 pipe). I used galvanized 6.5' T's and 5" x 8' cedar on 10' centers, four t's to one cedar, five wire Gaucho.
The pipe posts he pounded in were cut 10' and put 5' in the ground. Remains to be seen if the pounded posts will hold up as well as the cemented posts. If they do, I would sure like to have one of those pounders.

Agree on the larger post for gates. Agree 2 3/8 is marginal for corners in that if you put the wire on really tight and look closely, you can see a bit of a bend to the post with a solid concrete footing. Problem for me was the difference in cost and Gates were already installed in an older wood fence.

Agree too on the Gaucho wire 15 1/2 GA. high tensile wire......made in Arkansas. It works differently than soft drawn 12ga wire in that it doesn't stretch. When you get her tight she stays there. But the big difference for me was how long the galvanized/zinc coating lasts. About 4 years ago I removed some rotten wood posts and replaced with steel. The fence had been up over 20 years. I didn't have to install new wire as the coating on the existing wire was still perfect; no rust anywhere. So I just laid the wire to the side, did the post work and put it back.

Being smaller in diameter, the rolls are lighter and easier to carry. The barbs are almost razor sharp to the point where I can't get near it without drawing blood. Cows respect the 2 barb just fine so you don't have to go the added expense of 4 barb.......oh and the best part, it's cheaper, probably due to the smaller quantity of steel. On the coating resilience, the chemicals they add to make it high tensile may help the wire to resist iron oxidation.

Am I sold on it????????? Naw. Grin

Mark

 

[Soundguy]

As a side note, just tossing this out.

Some people don't want / need fences that last.

My pasture fences are tpost for that reason. I will eventually be doing some building ont hat property.. but have it subdivided into paddocks for now, and those paddocks will change when I build there.. so no need to make it permanent since I will be pulling it all up later. I know some other people that do temp fencing like that. etc.

 

[BHD]

Agree too on the Gaucho wire 15 1/2 GA. high tensile wire......made in Arkansas. It works differently than soft drawn 12ga wire in that it doesn't stretch. When you get her tight she stays there. But the big difference for me was how long the galvanized/zinc coating lasts. About 4 years ago I removed some rotten wood posts and replaced with steel. The fence had been up over 20 years. I didn't have to install new wire as the coating on the existing wire was still perfect; no rust anywhere. So I just laid the wire to the side, did the post work and put it back.

Mark

may be I am dumber than rock here, but what is the problem if the wire is rusted, and is not breaking,

most of the wire on my fences are 100+ years old, and I do not even know if they ever were galvanize, but as long there not in the dirt, they do not deterate (at least at any speed), I do have a section that needs to be replaced as the wire is brittle but my guess is it has been that way from the beginning of it life, but one has a hard time splicing that section of fence,

but the only wire that is galvanized are the new fences (less than 30 years old), I have even taken some of the better wire my dad rolled up from when the land was totally fenced in, (open range laws), and have reused it in other sections of the fence, (most has so much dirt in the old rolls are no good now, I guess that is what 50-60 years of blowing dirt does),

and for the record I like the new high tensile wire as well, but have only used a mile or so of it, and only been up about a year so far,

 

[Fastowl]

Over the last three years we have replaced nearly 7 miles of 50-60 year old fencing on our place. All have been done using high tensile netting suitable for sheep and goats with a strand of barb wire at the top to reduce cattle from lounging on top of the fence. In some cases we run a barb strand on the bottom of perimeter fence to help reduce critters from going under and may put a strand half way up to discourage cattle from leaning on fence. All of the corners and gates are done with 2 7/8 line pipe and 2 3/8 on the H brace; these were all drilled and set in concrete. T Posts are used along the fence line at 20' spacing and are pounded in. Every 100' a 2 3/8 line pipe is installed by drilling and cementing in place. The USDA has recommendations on fencing if you interested in what they have to say.