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A toppled garden fence taught me to respect post depth
So my buddy thought he could save time by not digging deep for his garden fence posts. The common advice in our circle is that for short fences, depth doesn't matter much. But after a windy day left his fence looking like a drunken line, I have to disagree. Taking the time to set posts properly is non-negotiable for me now. It's about longevity, not just quick installation.
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the_matthew7mo ago
Was he just setting them in a few inches of dirt or what? I mean, I learned the hard way too when a storm took out my first attempt at a fence. For any fence, you really need to go at least a third of the post height underground, even for short ones. Otherwise, the leverage from the wind will just rock it loose over time, idk why people skip that step. It's not just about falling over immediately, but the posts will start leaning and the whole thing gets wobbly. Taking the extra time to dig proper holes and maybe even set them in concrete is way cheaper than replacing the whole fence later.
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joseph5727mo ago
My first fence post was so shallow, a stiff breeze had it leaning like the Tower of Pisa. @fisher.michael isn't wrong about society cutting corners, but I took it to an art form by barely covering the base with soil. After a mild rain, the whole section swayed like it was dancing, and I had to redo everything with proper depth. Now I always dig at least a foot deep, even for short dividers, because skimping just costs more time later.
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