Anthony:
H > We want to build a small wood fence between our house and detached garage. H > It will be 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide, and will include a 3 foot wide H > gate. H > H > The problem is supporting the fence posts so the gate will be sturdy and H > not have the fence wobbling around. H > H > I can only dig down about a foot or so because we have water, power, and H > drainage pipes running between the two buildings. H > H > I'm thinking of digging a hole 12" deep, filling it with concrete, and H > setting in one of those metal posts used for chain link fencing. I would H > then box that in with wood to give the appearance of a wood post, and H > provide easier mounting of the fence boards, gate hardware, etc. H > H > Will this work and/or are their other options I might be able to use?
You might want to consider what we did here for a "privacy fence" which was a single panel 8' wide and about 6' high (effectively extended the neighbour's fence when shrubs removed): then posts were held in place with a pair of steel "post clamps". Don't recall the proper name for them but the top portion is a 4"x4" piece which clamps on to the post. The bottom is a pointed cross piece (like an elongated Phillips screwdriver) about 14" long. The support gets driven into the undisturbed ground with a sledge hammer.
Here the support was solid -- lasted longer than the fence did, in fact one support is still in the ground because we couldn't get it out. (The new neighbours extended their fence so we removed ours.)
Naturally you will still need to be careful on placement of the fence post supports: you don't want to be pounding it into a pipe!
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