5
A guy in Boise told me my post hole depth was a joke
He saw me setting 4x4s for a ranch fence and said, 'You're only down 24 inches in this clay, that whole line's gonna heave next winter.' I switched to a full 36 inches for frost line and haven't had a call back since. How deep do you all go for corner posts in heavy soil?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
stellachen15d agoTop Commenter
That Boise guy knew his stuff. Heavy clay around here is a nightmare if you don't go deep enough. Watched a neighbor's whole gate section tilt like a drunk sailor after a mild winter because he skimped on depth. Now I won't even think about less than three feet for a corner post, it's just not worth the backache later.
7
henderson.oscar15d ago
Go 36 inches minimum in heavy clay. That Boise guy saved you a springtime headache of resetting posts. Frost heave doesn't care about your schedule.
2
jade_johnson9d ago
A whole gate section tilting over? That's wild... my uncle had a single fence post pop up maybe six inches one spring and we thought that was bad. Can't imagine the whole thing going sideways like that. Makes you wonder how much force is actually pushing up from underneath. Guess that's why they always say to dig deeper than you think you need.
3