Removing pipe fence

   / Removing pipe fence #1  

alwilson

New member
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
2
Location
Rhome, TX
Tractor
no tractor yet...
Hi, this is my first post to this forum.

My husband and I are considering purchasing some property that has a considerable amount of pipe fence, to include perimeter fencing and animal pens. While we intend to have some small animals on the property, a lot of the fencing is excessive for our needs. It is also hodge-podge and looks a little junky. So we'd like to remove what we won't use. We have limited experience with fence post removal, but never welded pipe.

My question: What is the best way to remove welded pipe fence? At this point we don't if the posts are anchored in concrete, but I"m assuming they are.

Should we hire someone to remove it? Not sure how much that would cost...

Can we do it ourselves with the right rental equipment?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
   / Removing pipe fence #2  
You can certainly remove it yourself. Here's what I'd do. Buy the property and move in. Leave the fence for a time until you REALLY decide what parts you want and what you don't. If you're going to have a tractor anyway, you can likely pull the posts with it. If they're in concrete, you may need to scratch up the surface - maybe with a backhoe. Remember that you'll also need to get rid of the posts - an expensive proposition if they had nubs of concrete on each one.
Good luck!
Mike
 
   / Removing pipe fence #3  
If the steel is in good shape you can push it to 1 side then the other and pull it out or you can to just pull it out with tractor loader, if the post are not in good shape and they fall apart, then you could try working out with the bucket and last resort is a backhoe.
 
   / Removing pipe fence #4  
If the pipe is in good shape, you should probably keep the perimeter fence and just have it cleaned and repainted. Pipe fences are expensive. The interior fences should be easy to pull out (depending on depth and your soil conditions).
 
   / Removing pipe fence #5  
Where are you located? What kind of soil do you have.

Here in East Texas we put our fences down anywhere from 18" to 24" for line posts and 36" for corners. We use a 9 inch auger and the posts are usually 2 3/8", so you have about 2 to 3 inches of concrete all around.

As others have said, " use tractor to push one side then the other" and the posts will suck straight up and out. Use a chain wrapped around the post. Make sure your bucket has good strong chain hooks on the bucket for this.

To get the concrete off the posts once they are out, use a sledge hammer with the post dangling in the air. Use eye protection!!! Alternatively go to Harbor Freight and purchase their demolishion hammer for about $175.00. If you are doing a bunch of them it is well worth the cost and labour savings. I have one and it's the only thing I will use to take the concrete off the posts!!! Saves my back hugely. Reuse the concrete to fill in the holes where the posts came out.

Finally, don't be in a rush to pull the pipe fencing until a year after you have been in the place. You will find you will change your mind about some of it and it is really costly to replace.

Cheers.
Glenn.
 
   / Removing pipe fence #6  
You can certainly remove it yourself. Here's what I'd do. Buy the property and move in. Leave the fence for a time until you REALLY decide what parts you want and what you don't. If you're going to have a tractor anyway, you can likely pull the posts with it. If they're in concrete, you may need to scratch up the surface - maybe with a backhoe. Remember that you'll also need to get rid of the posts - an expensive proposition if they had nubs of concrete on each one.
Good luck!
Mike

I really like what Mike wrote. Especially the part about moving in and not doing anything with it for awhile. Whithout knowing your life story, or your experience with country living, I can tell you that what you "think" you want will change the longer you live there.

If and when you decide to take out the fence, you have several options for getting it out. Having a tractor with a loader would really help. Depending on how much land you have, and your budget, the bigger the tractor, more powerful that it is, the more lifting strength the loader will have. The same applies for the rear 3pt lift. Either can be used for getting posts out of the ground. If your soil is sandy, and the posts are set in concrete, like I'd expect them to be, you might be able to just pull them out without any effort. If it's hard packed clay, and you have a small tractor, it might be quite a challenge to get them out. The only way to know for sure is to get started on it and find out what you have.

Before pulling the posts, you'll want to cut off the rails. A cutting torch is going to be the easiest, but it's the most expensive. You have to buy the torch and hoses, then rent the bottles. And of course, you have to pay to fill the bottles. Nothing will cut metal like a torch, so it might be something that you want to have anyway.

A sawzall with metal blades will cut the pipe too, but it's an effort. Cordless will have to have batteries recharged all the time, and a good cordless sawzall is expensive. The batteries are too, but it's something that is good to have and you pretty much have to have a good set of cordless tools anyway. If power is available, and you can get to the fence with extension cords, a corded sawzall will have more power and you wont have to wait for batteries to charge.

A big pipe cutter will make cutting the pipe rails a simple task of just spinning it around the pipe. Every turn, you tighten it up an dpretty soon, you've cut through the pipe. It's very time consuming, but if you are not in a hurry and don't want to spend allot of money on tools, it should work for you.

I'd buy a torch and cut them with that.

Depending on what you are going to do with the land, and if you have a tractor or not, you can also cut the posts off at the top of the concrete. In my experience, most of the time, the concrete is well below the height of the grass and soil around it. I dig around the base of the post down as far as I can get, then I cut the pipe with my torch. Then I fill in the area with dirt and in a few months, you'll never know where that post was. I do this fairly often for clients who want a pole gone, but don't want to desturb their lawn or spend any more then they have to. This way, I'm done very quickly, which means less money that my clients have to pay.

You can also try posting an add on craigslist for free metal pipe fencing. They have to remove it themselves, but get to keep all of it. I've seen allot of this with wood fences and cyclone fences. I don't know if it would work for you in your area, but it's free to place an add on craiglist, so you're not out anything. Who answers and what they are like to deal with is your biggest gamble.

My brother did this with some fence he wanted to go away. He had a father/son show up who did a really nice, really clean job for a bunch of it. They got what they wanted, but there was still some left. He tried another ad, and got some slobs who didn't do as good of a job and now he's going to have to deal with fence clips in his pasture.

Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to TBN.

Eddie
 
   / Removing pipe fence #7  
The only thing I can add to the good advice you have already received, is if you are going to pull it out with a chain and loader or 3 point, wrap the chain around several turns, then as you pull, the tension on the chains causes it to clinch tightly around the pipe rather than slip up.
 
   / Removing pipe fence #8  
I third the idea of moving in and at least waiting on the perimiter. Maybe you will find out there are things you want to keep out too!!
 
   / Removing pipe fence #9  
I third the idea of moving in and at least waiting on the perimiter. Maybe you will find out there are things you want to keep out too!!

I second most of these posts.

If you do decide to remove the fence yourself, (scrap is up again so there is value there)
I would also consider the angle grinder and cutoff wheels, quick and easy and you can power the grinder or sawzall with a inverter from the tractor 12v DC battery system. If you want to Move some of the fence then the sawzall and or angle grinder and cut off blade will be better ends for welding the fence back together. Be sure to keep some of the removed fence in the barn so you have leftovers to repair the parts you do leave up...

Mark
 
   / Removing pipe fence #10  
You might want to fill out the rest of your profile. Where you are is important.

Pipe fence is common and highly desirable in some places, ugly and undesirable in others.

Especially if you are not used to it, the pipe fence may look horrible now, but may turn out to be quite desirable in the future. When you buy the land, you are paying for that fence in the price of the land. It is yours to do what you wish, but a lot of us think it is a bad idea to throw away something of value. If it has deteriorated, painting it will spruce it up.
 

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