Fence post installation? Concrete vs packed gravel
Hello everyone,
I am building a wooden privacy fence in northern Alberta. Our soil is a few inches of top soil and then clay. I have been researching and reading a lot of different ways to set the posts. I am planning to go 4 feet down and the fence to be 6ft tall.
Sounds like the concrete actually retains water when then wood shrinks and can rot the 6x6 out. It is also prone to frost heaving. Gravel let’s the water drain away and makes replacing fence post down the road easy.
I do plan on adding 2x 8 foot gates to make one large gate for a RV. The other end of each gate will be supported by a trailer jack with a large wheel. But I am worried gravel around a post won’t support the gate posts and corner posts
I am looking for some advice on which route I should go. I like to think projects through and utilize the best technique to not have to re do them down the road.
Spoke with a few local fencing guys and they seem to all have different ways. One company suggested only 3’ deep and 2 bags of concrete per post? Frost line is 4ft
Try Sika Pro Select Fix. It’s an expanding foam for setting fence posts. Works well for the fence runs. If your gates are large and heavy you can cement those.
Gravel. I’m in the windiest place in the world it seems and I built a 6’ fence in the backyard 15 years ago. I used pea gravel around the posts to set them. Dozens of people told me I was a fool for not using concrete. That fence is still there and has not moved. How many 10’ slab snow fences in southern Alberta have been built with concrete? I’m guessing zero.
If you're drilling into clay and filling with gravel, will any water that seeps in ever dry out? This year might be an exception due to dry conditions.
Also, water in the ground isn’t as big of an issue as water pooled on the surface. I just pulled a fence post out of the ground that has been there for over 20 years. It was put in wet ground and is wet every year between thaw and freeze. It was a handmade aspen post treated in bluestone. It was as good as they day it was put there.
For the price difference I would use steel posts. A regular yard it might add 200 bucks to the project.
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Fence post installation? Concrete vs packed gravel
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