Replacing fence posts

[John]

My 2m high fence posts with 2 x 2 m approx wood panels have rotted at the base where they were put in concrete foundations about 1 foot in diam probably 25 years ago. I don't particularly want to dig all the concrete out which could take a week. Is it a good idea to clean out the 3" x 3" holes in the existing foundations and set new steel fence spikes in them with concrete then attach to new fence posts. Or will the standard spikes from the sheds just rust away in a few years, especially if the length needs to be trimmed, exposing bare steel. These seem to be painted rather than galvanised. Appearence is not an issue as they won't be visible.

thanks for any advice

john

[Rick]

As micro digger will have em out in minuites, hire cost sixty quid a day.

Rick

[AlexW]

I don't think most spike type fixings are designed to be set in concrete (may be wrong here though).

A quick fix might be to clean & fill the holes & fix bolt down plate style fixings to the top of existing concrete plugs with rawl bolts assuming they are reasonably flat. I did this patching up an old fence once and it worked OK (although I did the job properly 3 years later when other parts of the fence collapsed).

I also hand dug some of the plugs out ... won't be doing that again in a hurry ;-)

HTH,

Alex.

[Rob Morley]

Repair spikes are designed to drive down the side of the remains of the post left in the concrete.

You said "quick fix" and then advocated removing the old timber from the socket ... I spent a while drilling and chiselling the remains of a broken gatepost out of its hole in the drive, then discovered that the concrete was crap and ended up digging the lot out anyway. So often it seems that "shortcuts" just make life harder or result in a sub- standard job - I wonder why anyone thinks they're a good idea.

[AlexW]

Have you tried this? For me this didn't work as the repair spikes tended to bend before they were driven home which is why I suggested the "quick fix" I used.

Yes. In my case this was quicker than digging the plugs out, 2 plugs took me most of a day where as getting the most of the rotten timber out of the 3 other holes took much less time than this, this of course might not be someone elses findings, given the different circumstances.

If the concrete is crap then this is not a good approach as you point out, in my case the concrete was OK ... each case (I guess) needs to be judged on it merits.

Trying a rawl bolt or two might be an idea to judge how well the approach in this instance.

BTW I suggested this "short cut" method as John stated he did not want to dig the plugs out and it had worked for me ... at least until I could afford the time and money to replace the whole fence.

[Dave]

I would dig a new hole, set a concrete spur (in concrete) and then bolt the new post to the spur - the end to all rot and rust problems plus you can get the spur absolutely vertical. It means that the fence panel will need to be slightly shorter or you'll have to annex a bit of the adjacent land and change the line of the fence slightly.

[Old Bill]

Use a repair spike, wickes 542-505 Or I found a normal fencing spike, not the longest length, often works. The type of spike they have in e.g. Jewsons which starts as a blade rather than a point, is easier to locate properly at one edge of the old wood.

[Grumps]

Seconded. Cheap repair spikes have lasted here for over 10 years. I left the broken end of the post in the concrete hole and bashed the spike in around it.

[John]

Many thanks for all the ideas. the concrete spurs sound the best idea. Pity they don't sell full length concrete posts like the C. Council use. The existing concrete is not flat at all but it's hard as iron and an SDS chisel has great difficulty. I'll see how easy it is to get the old wood stumps out, then ponder a bit more.

john

[Andrew Gabriel]

I've used a modified version (because nowhere seems to stock 4" repair spikes). Take a regular spike, shorten it with a hacksaw to be no longer than the length of timber buried in the concrete (big guess here), and then hammer it into timber in the concrete, which acts like a giant rawl plug. You have to get it well centred so it doesn't foul the concrete sides before you get it in, and you'll need a heavy fence post hammer. If you're clever, you can even get the original post in the socket without having to take the fence apart (at least with an arris rail fence -- probably won't work with panels). I've done this several times, and the posts have held well afterwards.

As for lonevity, a fence I put up with the metal spikes into soil some 20 years ago is still fine. These were "Fensock" make which I haven't seen around for some time now though. I also notice the recent Metapost spikes I bought are not made as well as ones bought a couple of years ago, so this may not be a guide to the longevity of current products.

[Tim Mitchell]

In article , John writes

Visit your local Jewson, MKM etc to buy full length concrete posts. It is hard work putting them in but you won't be doing it again.

[John]

thanks, I might pay a visit to Jewson, there is one 20.4 mls away.

But their web site's pretty naff. No stock contents and it says email them with what I want and they'll send a brochure in the post !

john

[Tim Mitchell]

In article , John writes

Jewson seem to be sticking to the traditional BM "turn-up-and-buy" methods. If they haven't got it in stock locally you may as well give up. We tried to order some doors from them and it was a complete shambles. They do, however, normally hold large stocks.

[Pete C]

Hi,

Anyone tried jacking concrete out with a car jack and a bit of RSJ? eg:

cheers, Pete.