Posted: 6/3/2011 10:53:00 AM EDT
|
OK, so not so DIY as I'm getting quotes from guys to haul out and replace my fence but one guy mentioned his method that had me wondering.
When I asked about how long the job would be I thought there would be at least a day waiting for the posts to set up a little. He said no, that they just dry pack the concrete. After doing some reading online, there appears to be some confusion as to whether this method is good, bad or it doesn't matter. Others have mentioned not going concrete at all, just using gravel so there is drainage around the post. I don't know either way, I'm just asking. 
Thanks |
|
Quoted: OK, so not so DIY as I'm getting quotes from guys to haul out and replace my fence but one guy mentioned his method that had me wondering. When I asked about how long the job would be I thought there would be at least a day waiting for the posts to set up a little. He said no, that they just dry pack the concrete. After doing some reading online, there appears to be some confusion as to whether this method is good, bad or it doesn't matter. Others have mentioned not going concrete at all, just using gravel so there is drainage around the post. I don't know either way, I'm just asking. Thanks I've always used concrete (plain Quikrete), poured dry into the hole around the post that's already set. Then the dry mix is wet thoroughly with water & "mixed" with a long piece of rebar. When it stiffens a bit I round off the top so that water doesn't pool around the post itself & rot it out. It cures overnight. ETA: Not sure what "dry pack the concrete" means exactly, because there is a type of concrete that's called dry pack concrete. |
|
I've always used concrete, but I saw an episode of This Old House where they tamped/dry-packed using breeze. It sure seems better than dealing with concrete plugs when it's time to replace a post. "Breeze" = "crusher fines" = "walkway gravel" = small gravel 1/4 inch down to dust |
|
Quoted: I've always used concrete, but I saw an episode of This Old House where they tamped/dry-packed using breeze. It sure seems better than dealing with concrete plugs when it's time to replace a post. "Breeze" = "crusher fines" = "walkway gravel" = small gravel 1/4 inch down to dust TOH is filmed mostly in the Northeast, where the winters are much harsher than in VA (the OP's location). They don't use concrete on TOH since concrete would crack quickly due to the repeated infiltration & freezing cycle of water in the winter. In VA, not so much, so concrete would be OK. Good point, though. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I've always used concrete, but I saw an episode of This Old House where they tamped/dry-packed using breeze. It sure seems better than dealing with concrete plugs when it's time to replace a post. "Breeze" = "crusher fines" = "walkway gravel" = small gravel 1/4 inch down to dust TOH is filmed mostly in the Northeast, where the winters are much harsher than in VA (the OP's location). They don't use concrete on TOH since concrete would crack quickly due to the repeated infiltration & freezing cycle of water in the winter. In VA, not so much, so concrete would be OK. Good point, though. We call that crushed limestone around these parts -411. Set many fence post for agriculture and never used bag cement. From my knowledge encasing a post in concrete only makes for a vessel for the post to sit in and rot from the bottom up. Sure you can try to mound it up around the post to prevent water from going down between the post and the concrete but i've never seen anyone really do that with good results. To ultimately set the post on concrete i would take a trash bag or heavy mil plastic and wrap the post to the top of the soil and duct tape it there...back fill or mound/taper to your likings. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I've always used concrete, but I saw an episode of This Old House where they tamped/dry-packed using breeze. It sure seems better than dealing with concrete plugs when it's time to replace a post. "Breeze" = "crusher fines" = "walkway gravel" = small gravel 1/4 inch down to dust TOH is filmed mostly in the Northeast, where the winters are much harsher than in VA (the OP's location). They don't use concrete on TOH since concrete would crack quickly due to the repeated infiltration & freezing cycle of water in the winter. In VA, not so much, so concrete would be OK. Good point, though. This is a townhouse community. What I've seen in the past few months at other units is a portion of the fence falling over because a post rotted out just above or at the ground line. One thing is how it's in there now, there's no concrete all the way up, it's covered with dirt. I replaced one post myself last year as this very thing happened to my gate post. When I pulled it up it was a contractor special. Only MAYBE 2' in the ground and not all of it was in concrete. I do hear you about it's easier to replace later without the concrete. That damn thing sat in my back yard for months until I got sick enough of looking at it to haul it away. With the "dry pack" bit, I could be remembering incorrectly his exact words. I'm certain he said dry though. |
|
Dig the hole about 6 inches past the frost depth.
Fill it with about 3 inches of fine gravel (pea gravel works well). Put the post on the pea gravel, then fil the hole with concrete. Shape the top to shed water at least a little, but make it about 2-3 inches UNDER the ground around the pole. Throw some dirt on top of the concrete once it mostly cures so you can grow grass. The post is not sitting in a concrete pool rotting, you can have grass right up to the pole, and the concrete provides a solid base and increases the resistance of the post to tipping and freezing moving it around. |
| If you set your post with a bag of dry concrete along the same lines as what is being describe with crushed lime or "breeze" in the above posts the concrete will set up over time just by moisture intrusion. It the same as an old bag of ready mix that has sat around and hardened into a solid block. This is likely what he was bidding as I have seen it done and done it myself this way. |
|
I've done both. I tend to just dump a bag of Sakrete into the hole if there won't be any lateral force on the post. I mix like regular concrete if there will be.
I have dug up posts where the concrete was dumped in dry and even though it doesn't look too bad it will crumble off with the slightest tap of a hammer. Not good, IMO, but adequate for any post that won't have lateral force. For a privacy fence I would not consider not properly mixing the 'crete, due to the load wind will put upon it. 
|
|
When we put our fence in, the place I got the materials from had a deal where they delivered the materials, and set the posts. I chose that option, as I didn't really have the time to dig 60 post holes by myself, and didn't want to rent an auger.
Materials delivered and posts set on a Monday. I installed rail brackets and rails on Tuesday, started hanging pickets on a Wednesday, and finished on Saturday (all work done after work except on Saturday). If I were to do it myself, I would put 6" gravel at the bottom of the hole, wrap the bottom of the post in roofing felt, and then set it in concrete and dome the top. |
|
Quoted:
For a privacy fence I would not consider not properly mixing the 'crete, due to the load wind will put upon it. Yeah. We can get some good wind where I'm at... I bought 10' posts, and set them 4 feet into the ground, with pre-mixed concrete. Anything that blows those over will probably take my house with them.
|