Fencing and Posts

[oosik]

As I remember - back in '82 my four strand barbed wire fence cost around $4200. You can save $$$$ if you purchase supplies in bulk.

A pallet of barbed wire = 24 rolls. A pallet of T-145 posts = 250 posts.

It is one and a half miles around my property.

 

[two_bit_score]

Stay Tuff Fencing has good info on their website:

Stay-Tuff | Superior Fence Products

Stay-Tuff is a leading manufacturer of agricultural fences. We make some of the most durable and impact resistant fences in the market, plus a full line of fencing tools and accessories.

staytuff.com

 

[two_bit_score]

It’s a great stapler. Fast.

Since I haven’t used one and you have, please shed more light. The videos I’ve seen show the staples being driven tight. I was taught and have always practiced to leave some space so the wire can be tightened up later if it has to be. Can the depth be set so it does not set the staple tight on the wire? Nailers can usually be adjusted so but the vids showed them just popping it as deep as possible.

 

[Jrasband]

I have been building fence lately, no t-posts as I am installing electric on the fence and metal and electric fence are enemies. I bought 5-6" x 7" line posts and 6-7" 8' corner and end posts. I have also been making split locust posts to save some money. With a post pounder on the tractor it is easy to install them. I suggest you look at Kencove website, they have some very helpful articles on properly installing field fencing. For instance, if you want a 54" tall fence you should have double H-braces and the horizontal should be 10' long. The brace post can be installed to have a 2" back lean against the pull of the fence to stop the fence from uplifting the post. You corner, and end posts should be 4' in the ground.

I can't imagine digging post holes by hand or with a tractor auger, what a pain.

I read an article on the Kencove website that said driven in posts are something like 10 times more resistant to being pulled over than hand dug or auger set posts.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'll add that when a post does rot off at ground level, and you want to replace it with another post in the same spot, getting the part that's left in the ground out is a royal pain. I have a corner I need to deal with and I'm dreading it.

A couple times a year I'll have a client hire me to replace a fence post that has rotted out on them. This is always in a city, and it's always a 6 foot privacy fence. I've never been hired to work on a farm fence.

Since it's in town, I just dig down on one side of the post until I get to the bottom of it, then pull it over. It's rare that the post is still in one piece. Usually there is a little concrete around the post, down towards the bottom. I guess the fencing contractor dumps a single sack in the hole, then fills the rest with dirt. I've seen this so many times, it must be common practice. I'm not a fencing contractor and I refuse to do do new fencing jobs. I just fix what others have already done.

Once the post is out of the ground, I set the new post, attach all the fencing, replace what's in bad shape, and get it all level and straight. Then I fill with concrete and build it up so water will run away from the post. In 20 years of doing this, I've never seen any rot of any kind on the posts that I've set this way.

For my personal farm fencing, I use round posts. For those privacy fences in town, I use treated 6x6 posts. Usually I'm replacing 4x4 or landscaping posts that are flat on two sides, round on two sides.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Since I haven’t used one and you have, please shed more light. The videos I’ve seen show the staples being driven tight. I was taught and have always practiced to leave some space so the wire can be tightened up later if it has to be. Can the depth be set so it does not set the staple tight on the wire? Nailers can usually be adjusted so but the vids showed them just popping it as deep as possible.

Pressure is adjustable.

 

[paulsharvey]

Turns out the Tee posts I had where 6 ft; not 6.5 ft... I would have sworn they where 6.5. Decided to go Wood, Tee, tee, tee, wood, tee, tee, tee, wood, ect. Picked up 30 6 ft tee posts today for about $4.30/each. Figure if I set a handful every weekend, it will get done eventually. Not looking forwards to the parts in the woods, but I did clear a 6 ft wide "path" where the fence goes on the one side. Going to use 8 ft wood corners.

 

[two_bit_score]

Turns out the Tee posts I had where 6 ft; not 6.5 ft... I would have sworn they where 6.5. Decided to go Wood, Tee, tee, tee, wood, tee, tee, tee, wood, ect. Picked up 30 6 ft tee posts today for about $4.30/each. Figure if I set a handful every weekend, it will get done eventually. Not looking forwards to the parts in the woods, but I did clear a 6 ft wide "path" where the fence goes on the one side. Going to use 8 ft wood corners.

What will be the distance between the T-posts?
Stay Tuff recommends 25 feet between posts for high tensile.

 

[EddieWalker]

Very good price for T posts!!!!

 

[paulsharvey]

What will be the distance between the T-posts?
Stay Tuff recommends 25 feet between posts for high tensile.

Going 8ft OC. I could probably stretch that out, but I'm not super impressed with the hold capacity of 18" of tee post in sand. Maybe that doesn't really matter with good corners?

Edit: it's entirely possible just every 4th wooden posts is needed?