fencing advice...

j.col said:
But you have to mix it yourself, 6 shovels of ballast in a wheel barrow and 1 cement, mix it dry and fill up hole.
Click to expand...

hi are you sure about mixing it dry? does it not need to be mixed up properly with water in the wheel barrow before I throw it into the hole

I've been thinking about this project, the ballast and cement mix will take longer to dry out and set
whereas the bags of postcrete will dry quicker meaning I can put the fence panels on right way

I was thinking of putting all posts up + gravel boards then coming back once it dries to fit the panels
is that risky?
 
Dry mix is fine, our fence has been up 4 years through all sorts of winds with zero issues.

It really is a simple process

(1) Run plum line
(2) Dig post hole
(3) Insert post and support it it with either some bricks in the hole or a couple of planks of word as a jig to keep it straight and plum
(4) Drop in a bag of postcrete and add water
(5) Dig next hole whilst previous post sets
(6) Line up gravel board and next post (again with bricks or jig)
(7) Drop in bag of postcrete and add water
(8) Repeat 5-7 and drop in panels whenever comfortable that the previous posts are set
 
psd99 said:
- 12 x 6 foot feather edge panels
- 13 x 8 foot slotted concrete posts
- 12 x 305mm x 1830mm gravel boards (= 12 inches by 6 feet)


- 1 x jumbo bag ballast
- 6 x 25kg bags of quick setting cement

I really hope that 8 foot posts will do the job!!!!

1. which post borer shall I purchase?

2. there was talk about throwing the cement in dry? What should my exact strategy be?
Click to expand...


No it wont work as you will only have 300mm or 12" in the ground using 8 foot posts
With 6 foot panels and 12" gravel boards you will need 9 foot posts,( you need a minimum of 18" in the ground, but 24" is better especially if the ground is soft)

Dry concrete, exactly as i said, in a wheel barrow put 6 shovels of ballast, 1 shovel of cement, mix it with a shovel.
Put post into the hole ensuring its at the right height, get a helper to hold it plumb (vertical on front and side of post) using a spirit level.
Put in 2 shovels of concrete mix ensuring all 4 sides have equal amounts.
Pack the mix down with a piece of wood eg. bit of 50mm x 75mm or even an old spirit level, when i say pack it down i mean pack it down hard lol. Do all 4 sides in rotation.
Add another 2 shovels and pack as above.
When you get to ground level you will be surprised just how firm the post is in the ground, it wont move lol.
There is enough moisture in the ballast to cure the cement as it is, but its better to use roughly 1/2 to 1 watering can of water on each hole at the end of the day.

Btw, you can put the concrete in wet if you want, but imo its much easier if its dry

If it not windy you can add the panels as you go, if its windy just drop them in the next day, its easy as they slide doen the slot in the posts, (also im am 6 foot 4 lol)
As i said before i install fencing regulary and this is how we do it.
Personally ordainary cement is fine, it will be hard the next morning, also if you notice towards the end of the day you made a mistake, there is still some time to fix it if you used normal cement ;) whereas postcrete (rip off) or rapid cement will be a much bigger job to fix any mistakes
 
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j.col said:
No it wont work as you will only have 300mm or 12" in the ground using 8 foot posts
With 6 foot panels and 12" gravel boards you will need 9 foot posts,( you need a minimum of 18" in the ground, but 24" is better especially if the ground is soft)

Dry concrete, exactly as i said, in a wheel barrow put 6 shovels of ballast, 1 shovel of cement, mix it with a shovel.
Put post into the hole ensuring its at the right height, get a helper to hold it plumb (vertical on front and side of post) using a spirit level.
Put in 2 shovels of concrete mix ensuring all 4 sides have equal amounts.
Pack the mix down with a piece of wood eg. bit of 50mm x 75mm or even an old spirit level, when i say pack it down i mean pack it down hard lol. Do all 4 sides in rotation.
Add another 2 shovels and pack as above.
When you get to ground level you will be surprised just how firm the post is in the ground, it wont move lol.
There is enough moisture in the ballast to cure the cement as it is, but its better to use roughly 1/2 to 1 watering can of water on each hole at the end of the day.

Btw, you can put the concrete in wet if you want, but imo its much easier if its dry

If it not windy you can add the panels as you go, if its windy just drop them in the next day, its easy as they slide doen the slot in the posts, (also im am 6 foot 4 lol)
As i said before i install fencing regulary and this is how we do it.
Personally ordainary cement is fine, it will be hard the next morning, also if you notice towards the end of the day you made a mistake, there is still some time to fix it if you used normal cement ;) whereas postcrete (rip off) or rapid cement will be a much bigger job to fix any mistakes
Click to expand...


Thanks excellent advice there!

ultimately, it comes down to a decision then

8 foot post with gravel board of 1830 x 150mm

or

9 foot post with gravel board 1830 x 305mm

do you think that sounds right?
 
Yeah that sounds good.
Re. 12 inch gravel boards, unless a customer asks for them, we will only use them on steep slopes or to retain higher/lower ground.

If the ground is fairly level then 6 inch boards are good enough unless neighbours property is higher or lower or you want more privacy.
 
j.col said:
Yeah that sounds good.
Re. 12 inch gravel boards, unless a customer asks for them, we will only use them on steep slopes or to retain higher/lower ground.

If the ground is fairly level then 6 inch boards are good enough unless neighbours property is higher or lower or you want more privacy.
Click to expand...


it works out to be 0.5 ft + 6 = 6.5ft height

that's surely more than enough, the ground is very level and soft the soil is amazing
 
psd99 said:
it works out to be 0.5 ft + 6 = 6.5ft height

that's surely more than enough, the ground is very level and soft the soil is amazing
Click to expand...

Yeah 6' 6" is plenty.
If the ground is soft then a post borer will make it much easier.
Ask the hire guy but iirc you use a 6" bit.

The hardest part of fencing is getting the heights right.
Fit first post and last post, allowing for height of panel and board.
Prop with a length timber.
Run a string line from top chamfer (bottom of little slope on top of post) to the top chamfer of last post, pull this tight.
This is your height.
We will also run another string line at the top of where the gravel boards will be.
This way is easy and quick to have everything the right height
 
j.col said:
Yeah 6' 6" is plenty.
If the ground is soft then a post borer will make it much easier.
Ask the hire guy but iirc you use a 6" bit.

The hardest part of fencing is getting the heights right.
Fit first post and last post, allowing for height of panel and board.
Prop with a length timber.
Run a string line from top chamfer (bottom of little slope on top of post) to the top chamfer of last post, pull this tight.
This is your height.
We will also run another string line at the top of where the gravel boards will be.
This way is easy and quick to have everything the right height
Click to expand...


do you put the fence in the same day? or do u think wait till the cement mix has dried up.

20mm ballast okay?
 
20mm ballast is perfect.
If it's not windy, then yeah we fit the panels as we go.
Have a look online for a fencing supplier near you, he should be cheaper and better quality than a DIY store
 
thanks just had a look, it's about £900 for 12 panels plus everything else that I need with it!


how many bags of cement? I got 10 down for 13 posts. is it overkill?
 
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